


Within her grasp

by ChibiRenamon



Category: Kung Fu Panda - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Kung Fu, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-07-19
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-22 02:46:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 25,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8269741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiRenamon/pseuds/ChibiRenamon
Summary: For young Tigress, earning the title of "Master" is all that matters, but something is holding her back. Will the crane who just arrived help her? Or will he just make things even more complicated?





	1. The new Master

**Prologue**

  
Master Oogway slowly inhaled and held his breath for a few seconds before exhaling again. Above him, the leaves of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom rustled gently. Peace and harmony were all around him... except for the tiny zone of irritation and disappointment right behind him. "Shifu," the tortoise whispered his student's name and smiled to himself. _He will learn... he will have to learn..._

"You called me, Master?" Shifu asked politely, but Oogway could tell that the little red panda was once again close to throwing a fit. As usual.

"How is young Tigress's training going?"

Oogway chuckled softly when he heard Shifu cracking his knuckles. "Badly, Master."

"Badly?" he asked with feigned surprise. "How can this be? She is your only student, and she is young, energetic-"

"She has the potential to reach the level of a Master, but she is... _lacking_ something. Also, her aerial combat skills are horribly sub-par, and I can barely get her to train them!" Shifu sighed dramatically. "I understand that children her age sometimes have phases in which they rebel against authority, but this is _irrational_! She _wants_ to become a Master! And yet... yet..." Another sigh.

"And yet," Oogway picked up the sentence, "something is holding her back." He slowly got to his feet. "I know exactly what is to do," he announced suddenly and beamed as he turned around to face Shifu.

The red panda's eyes widened considerably. "Yes? Yes?"

"We are going to travel to the temples in the south tomorrow evening. Being away from the Jade Palace for a few weeks sounds perfect, doesn't it?"

Shifu blinked. "I... see..." He frowned lightly before smiling. "Actually, you are right! Tigress needs to get out of the temple for a while. Maybe, if she trains in a new environment-"

"Tigress will stay here," Oogway interrupted him and almost laughed when he saw the red panda twitch.

"B-but then why did you say that-"

"Shifu, Shifu..." The tortoise lightly waved his giant cane at the night sky. "What _we_ need is a vacation. What _she_ needs is a playmate."

"Playmate? _Playmate_? Master Oogway, with all due respect, I fail to see how-"

"Don't worry, Shifu... it will all work out, and you won't even have to lift a finger."

 

**Arrival**

  
_New. Record. Time._ Tigress moved swiftly through the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, unleashing a steady stream of punches and kicks at their movable arms. _New. Record. Time._ Her goal was to be a full second faster than her old best time. And all she had to do was to get through the last row within the next three seconds, followed by-

"AUGH!" One of her punches had been just a little bit too low, but the few inches in height made all the difference between hitting the smooth side of the top-most arm and smacking her fist straight into the spikes below it. "DAMMIT!" she cursed loudly, barely resisting the urge to sink her claws into the wooden punishment device. _Okay, no new record. WHATEVER._ Licking her bruised hand, Tigress stomped out of the obstacle course. "Stupid obstacle course. Stupid spikes. Stupid record times. Stupid bird." She froze. _...bird?_

"Apologies," the bird she had just stomped past moved into her field of view again.

 _A crane,_ she noticed, glancing at his ridiculously thin legs and the white and dark blue feathers. Her eyes stopped at his oversized straw hat, and she raised an eyebrow at it before she remembered Master Shifu's lectures on how to treat visitors. "No, I should apologize! May I help you?" _Okay, bad first impression, but nothing I can't fix... He doesn't seem to be too disturbed by my cursing and muttering._

The crane opened his long beak, but then closed it again and looked down. "You're bleeding."

"Hm? Oh, it's just a scratch. You have to get used to minor things like this when practicing Kung Fu." She tried not to sound too smug, but she raised her head a little bit, anyway. "I'll just get..." she muttered and took a small bandage out of a box, "...this, and in a few minutes, I'll be as good as new."

"I see!" The bird nodded eagerly. "So, if you're not mortally wounded after all, could you please tell me where to find Master Shifu or Grand Master Oogway? I have a message for them." He held up his right leg, which had a small scroll tied to it.

 _I've been boasting to some stupid, empty-headed bird who just takes messages and mindlessly delivers them? Ugh, what a waste of time!_ She rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about that. Master Shifu will be with us once he realizes that I'm neglecting my training."

"Well, you should maybe continue, then! I wouldn't want you to get into trouble!"

"Nah, it's fine." Tigress leaned against the wall and smirked. "I don't really need that much training, actually. I'm close to becoming a Master, you know?" _Does he actually know what that means?_

"Well..." Something was on the bird's mind.

Tigress sighed. "Look, that was just one punch. I aimed too low, and-"

"No, you didn't," the bird interrupted her and cocked his head.

"...pardon me?" _Don't tell me that a stupid messenger bird is going to lecture me!_

"I believe your stance was off a little bit. Your aim was correct, but it seemed to be in the wrong context."

"Wrong _context_?" she snapped and gave the crane one of her worst glares. "Listen, I have been studying Tiger Kung Fu for more than a _decade_ under one of the most demanding Masters in all of China! How _dare_ you imply that I got something this simple wrong?"

"Your Kung Fu is impressive and reflects your experience," he conceded, "but still, your stance had been off a bit. However, I'm sure it was just a minor slip and that you did it right all the other times." He gave her a light shrug.

Tigress crossed her arms and opened her mouth to reply.

"What is going on here?" Master Shifu suddenly snapped, forcing her to simply give the bird another glare before facing her teacher.

"You have a message, Master Shifu," she replied and bowed slightly. The red panda gave the bird a brief look, but then focused on her again. _Dang it!_

"And you interrupted your training... why?"

"Minor injury from the Gauntlet. Just before the last row, I aimed a punch too low. Nothing big, but I wanted to bandage it any-"

"What happened?" Master Shifu asked and gave her a look that made it clear that in his eyes, she had lost a fight with a wooden dummy. And to make matters worse, he didn't even seem to be surprised by it. Tigress quickly assumed the last position from her training session, her bandaged fist held at the wrong height, just the way it had been before. Her teacher sighed. "Your stance is off."

 _WHAT?_ Tigress blinked. _No! It's not! Why does everybody think that-_ Her eyes wandered over to the bird. _Did he actually see that-... no. That was just a blind guess! Nothing more! And Master Shifu's wrong, too! My aim was simply off!_

"That's what she told me, too," the bird suddenly chimed in, making Tigress blink again.

"Oh, she actually noticed it?" Master Shifu was sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Indeed! She told me how her left foot should have been a bit further behind her. Then, her upper body would have been correctly aligned."

 _Wait. He's... he's right!_ Tigress edged her left foot backwards, and her right fist moved upwards automatically. _Rookie mistake! I had kept my feet too close together!_

"Hm. Well, if you realized it yourself, I guess we can leave it at that." Master Shifu shrugged lightly before looking up at the crane again. "Now... you have a message for me?"

"I do," the bird replied and held up the leg with the scroll.

Master Shifu quickly removed it. "Let's see," he whispered as he unrolled it. "To the Masters of the Jade Palace. With great regrets, we must inform you that-" His eyes widened as he read the rest of the message in silence. When he lowered the scroll again, Tigress could tell that it had contained _extremely_ bad news. "The Floating Temple has been destroyed," the red panda finally whispered. "An avalanche completely buried it just a few days ago. Few survivors, and the temple has effectively been wiped off the map." Tigress's jaw dropped. The bird just nodded gravely. Master Shifu sighed deeply. "The remaining students have been sent to other Kung Fu temples in the area. The Masters who survived are being sent further away."

"Even further? Why?" Tigress frowned.

"There are many possible reasons for that, actually. Spreading out the people who mastered their techniques will naturally spread the popularity of the technique itself. It also allows the Masters to scout for new talents in a larger area, should the Floating Temple be rebuilt later on."

"So... if we got one of these messages..."

"Yes, Tigress. They offer to send one of their Masters over to the Jade Palace."

Tigress gritted her teeth. On the one hand, another Master would of course be a welcome addition to any Kung Fu temple. On the other hand, it would mean having three Masters for only a single student - her. _Yet another guy to jerk me around and comment on how I'm lacking this or that before I can become a Master myself!_

"I think," Master Shifu spoke after a minute of silence, "that this isn't actually a bad idea. The Masters at the Floating Temple know a wide range of techniques." He gave Tigress a look. "Including Tiger Kung Fu, from what I heard." Ignoring the way Tigress stiffened, he gave the bird a nod. "The Masters of the Jade Palace would feel honored by having a Master of the Floating Temple join us."

"Thank you kindly, Master Shifu!"

"How long would it take this new Master to arrive here?" Master Shifu suddenly asked and frowned. "You see, my Master and I will be going on a trip to some of the temples in the south tonight. It would be regrettable if we missed his or her arrival..."

 _They're going on a trip? Without me?_ Tigress frowned, but then relaxed. _All right! That means a few days or weeks without anybody breathing down my neck!_

"Oh, I apologize!" the bird exclaimed and shook his head. "What an embarrassing oversight, I forgot to introduce myself!" He bowed again and gave them the customary Kung Fu salute. "Crane, Master of the Fujian White Crane style, at your service."  



	2. The higher they fly...

Of the many exhibits in the Hall of Warriors, Tigress had taken the most interest in the Sword of Heroes - a weapon with a blade that was so sharp that special precautions had to be taken before one could even take a closer look at it. Right now, Tigress felt as if she had been impaled on said sword - multiple times. She gave the crane next to her a wide-eyed look. Just minutes before, she had first boasted about her Kung Fu and then ranted at the bird for trying to correct her stance. But now...  
  
"You... are the Master from the Floating Temple?" Master Shifu asked and gave the young crane a look.  
  
"I received my title just this year, Master Shifu. Master Bai-He sent me here to train because he wanted me to make the most of my potential."  
  
_I can't believe it!_ Tigress thought and frowned deeply. _He's just my age, for crying out loud! I trained under the greatest Kung Fu Masters in all of China, and I'm only close to Master rank!_  
  
"Well, I'm glad they sent you here directly! It's unusual, but it means that we can properly welcome you before we depart."  
  
The crane shrugged lightly. "Most of our messengers died during the avalanche, so we use them mostly for short-range exchanges at the moment. Keeps things flexible."  
  
_So if not even_ I _am fully ready, this can only mean one of three things,_ Tigress thought, paying little attention to the discussion between her Master and the bird. _One: This Crane style is pathetic._ While she had no doubt that both of her Masters knew the Crane style, she had only seen sketches of it while browsing through the thousand scrolls in the Hall of Warriors. And what she had seen hadn't exactly looked awe-inspiring. _Two: This... Crane is actually pretty good._ She discarded this one almost immediately. In her book, winged balls of feathers on stilts weren't the stuff Kung Fu Masters were made of. She was pretty sure there was a rule about this somewhere. _Or three: He's not actually a Kung Fu Master._ She gasped.  
  
"Yes, yes, you are right, of course." Master Shifu sighed quietly, oblivious to the insight Tigress had just reached. "I can't even begin to imagine how horrible this all must have been for you. I'm sorry about your loss." Crane bowed slightly.  
  
_That's it... that has got to be it!_ Tigress thought to herself, her tail twitching as everything clicked into place. _He's a liar! Nothing more than a silly liar who wants to sneak into the temple!_ She was about to alert Master Shifu right then and there, but something held her back. _What if I'm wrong?_ She froze. _If I'm wrong about this, I'm going to look like the biggest idiot in China. After all, I just met him a few minutes ago... and he spotted my stance mistake._ Tigress bit her lower lip. _Maybe I just can't accept that he's a Master because that would mean that I made a total ass out of myself before Master Shifu had arrived._  
  
"Is something wrong, Tigress?"  
  
_Think fast. Don't say anything stupid now._ "I was just wondering," she started, her eyes moving back and forth between her Master and the crane, "if... _Master_ Crane could give us a demonstration of his skills?" _Yeah, that's not bad!_ she instantly praised herself.  
  
Master Shifu cocked his head and gave her a light frown. "It's a bit... unusual to ask a guest who just arrived after a journey of hundreds of-"  
  
"Actually," Crane interrupted him softly, "I arrived last night and slept in an inn." His eyes met hers, and Tigress suddenly had the horrible feeling that he knew exactly what she had in mind. "If you wish, I can do whatever you had in mind."  
  
"Hmmmm..." Shifu scratched his chin and suddenly grinned mischievously. "Well, if you put it like this... a short demonstration in the courtyard? Tigress will be your sparring partner."  
  
"What?" Tigress asked and blinked wildly. "Sparring? I was thinking more along the lines of, you know-"  
  
"It will be an excellent way to get to know each other!" Master Shifu countered even as he started to lead them out of the training hall. "After all, I intend to have him supervise your training while we are gone!"  
  
_Come again?_ Tigress was glad that her Master couldn't see her gesturing frantically behind his back. "Master, don't you think this is a bit sudden?"  
  
"Well, it certainly beats writing a dozen scrolls with static training plans. And who knows, maybe he can train you better than I can." Shifu was already busily gesturing at some of the Jade Palace's servants to make them clear the courtyard.  
  
"You honor me, Master Shifu." Crane bowed deeply, even though the red panda couldn't see it. "But there is no way that I could improve on your training methods."  
  
"The thing is," Master Shifu replied, "that she has been neglecting her training. Her aerial combat skills leave a lot to be desired, and her overall style is... _lacking_ something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe you can."  
  
Tigress snickered quietly when Crane was giving his quite finger-less wing a look. "Well, if you say so, I will simply thank you for the expression of faith."  
  
Then he walked towards the center of the courtyard, and Tigress realized that she would have to follow him. _He doesn't seem worried at all,_ she thought even as she was removing her bandage. Her hand still hurt a little bit, but it would be little more than a minor distraction. _So he's either underestimating me, or I'm in for a royal smackdown._ "Master Shifu?" she asked quietly, trying not to sound worried. "What are the... errr... rules for this sparring match?"  
  
"Oh, of course!" The red panda nodded and waved slightly to get the crane's attention. "I would appreciate it," he spoke loud enough for both of them to hear him, "if neither of you needed medical attention after this match!"  
  
_Wonderful. Years of training, and only now does he develop a sense of humor._ Tigress rolled her eyes and joined her opponent in the courtyard. _Okay, calm down, Tigress,_ she told herself as she cracked her knuckles. _You can win this. Crane style seems to be mostly some flashy wing movements to... do something._ She suddenly wished that she had paid closer attention to what had been written on the scrolls. _But seriously, what chance does he have if I hit him hard and fast? Anything goes down if you hit it hard enough! I just have to end this one quickly..._ Crane seemed to be completely oblivious to her calculating looks and simply bowed to give her the Kung Fu salute. She returned it and then moved into position. _Wait for it... wait for it..._  
  
"Begin," Master Shifu simply ordered from the stairs leading to the courtyard, and Tigress instantly lunged forwards and snapped her right fist into a powerful punch aimed at his chest. Her strength was among her greatest assets, and that punch had been designed to break anything less stable than a house wall.  
  
Crane's reply was almost as swift as her attack had been, and the punch connected only with his left wing. If the action had moved more slowly, she would have smirked. _He couldn't even dodge my first attack! I'm sure Master Shifu will forgive me for breaking a wing once he realizes how pathetic this "Master" really is._ Her mental smirk faded when she realized that her fist was still moving with surprisingly little resistance. _That wasn't a block - it's a deflecting move!_  
  
But instead of pondering more about his style, Tigress decided to stick to her original plan and immediately dropped to the ground to deliver a floor sweep kick, which the crane evaded by leaping into the air. _Predictable!_ She quickly shifted her weight onto her outstretched leg and brought up the other one to strike at her airborne opponent.  
  
Only that her opponent was more airborne than she had anticipated.  
  
Tigress groaned when she saw the crane flapping his giant wings once to hover just out of her reach. _Lesson one: Birds can FLY._  
  
Crane landed just outside her strike radius and gave her a smile. "Just as I had thought!"  
  
"What're you talking about?" Tigress hissed, never letting her guard down as she began to circle around him.  
  
"Your stance was perfect, so your mistake back then really had been a simple slip, nothing more."  
  
"WHAT?" Tigress sacrificed her fighting stance to gesture wildly. "We're FIGHTING here, and you're taking the time to evaluate the position of my FEET?"  
  
"I'm taking the time to evaluate the skills and flaws of my _opponent_ , yes," Crane replied calmly.  
  
"Oh, really? Well, do indulge me." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shifted her weight onto her right foot. It was what she called a Compromise Stance - a stance that looked non-threatening and limited her movements, but from which she could still evade and counter attacks with relative ease. _Just the sort of thing to surprise naughty birds with!_ But Crane didn't take the bait. Tigress briefly wondered if he was clever or simply honorable, but then settled on a much easier - and disturbing - explanation: _He probably doesn't_ need _to attack me while my guard is down._  
  
"I can say that your strength is only surpassed by your speed. Your attacks are swift and powerful, making it obvious that you were trained by a very capable Master." He bowed slightly. "Just what I expected."  
  
"And the flaws?" she asked, and her eyes moved instinctively to Master Shifu, who was looking slightly annoyed. _Then again, that's the way he always looks when I'm training._  
  
"Hmmmm... it's hard to put into words... but for now, let me just note that your emotions seem to be guiding your actions... and that may become your downfall. A Kung Fu Master needs to be able to ignore personal feelings during a fight."  
  
Tigress briefly thought about what Master Shifu had told her about his fight with Tai Lung. The former student had attacked him while trying to get the Dragon Scroll, and Master Shifu had lost the brief fight simply because his emotions made him hesitate. "Duly noted," she finally whispered and assumed her fighting stance again. "Shall we?"  
  
"With pleasure, _my student_ ," Crane replied smirked when he saw her twitch.  
  
_Calm down, Tigress, he's just trying to annoy you!_ she told herself and gritted her teeth. _And it's working!_ Her eyes focused on her target. _No time for meditation. Just strike him down hard and fast! Don't let him take off again!_ The world became a blur as she dashed at the bird, letting herself drop to the ground just in time to dodge any potential strikes at her upper body. Her hands once again touched the ground as she launched her foot into the air. _If he jumps, grab his leg with your feet and pull!_ The bird, however, simply used his wing to deflect the force of her attack, and so Tigress moved on to Plan B, which consisted of close-range fighting - which had been her overall goal, anyway. _I keep him close enough, and my Tiger style should be more useful than his wing-waving._  
  
After getting to her feet again, Tigress launched a quick combination of punches, all of which were deflected by his wings. Just when she had finished and pulled back her arms, she realized that the bird hadn't stopped moving yet. Following the natural movement of his wings after the last deflecting move, Crane pirouetted and suddenly extended both wings. The image reminded Tigress a bit of a spinning top, but so far, no top had tried to- _LEGS! LEGS! HE'S GOING FOR YOUR LEGS!_ She jumped backwards just in time to avoid a blow that would have swept her off her feet.  
  
This time, there was no banter. Even as she landed, Tigress saw Crane moving in after her. During the following seconds, Tigress began to realize that the strength of the Crane style was the natural grace with which blows could be deflected or delivered - and more often than not, one led directly to the other without any apparent stance change. _Okay, I take it all back,_ she thought after once again jumping backwards to avoid another wing attack. _He really is a Kung Fu Master. But come on, there has to be some way I can sneak a blow in!_ She glanced at her Master again and frowned. If anything, Master Shifu was looking even more annoyed than usual.  
  
"If you're getting tired, we can stop here," Crane offered, and Tigress wasn't sure if the offer was meant to tease her or not. "It has been a quite impressive match, but you should call it quits before we give your Master something to scold you for."  
  
She slipped into her fighting stance again. "Don't worry, he'll find something anyway. And I fight to win, so I won't call it quits - unless _you_ wish to give up?"  
  
"Hmmmmmm..." Crane stroked his beak with a wing, pretending to consider this. "...no, I don't think so. Mostly because I'm curious about your lack of air moves."  
  
Her eyes became narrow slits when she realized what he was aiming at. "I'm not a bird. I stick to the ground." _Why did Master Shifu have to tell him? Maybe he wouldn't have noticed the lack of jumping otherwise!_  
  
"But what do you do when the fight leaves the ground?" Crane gave her a light frown.  
  
_Oh, don't give me that teacher attitude already! You're sounding like Master Shifu, just with less skill._ "With me, the fight won't leave the ground. Period."  
  
"Hm." Crane shook his head slightly before spreading his wings again. "Prove it."  
  
Instead of replying verbally, Tigress started another attack, this time aiming a combination at his legs in the vague hope that at least one of her kicks would get past his defenses. _Those legs don't look too stable. Just a light hit would have severe consequences for him!_  
  
"If you stay down there any longer, we could attach a few rags to your vest so you can clean the courtyard while we're fighting!" Crane taunted her even as he hopped over her tenth kick.  
  
Tigress gritted her teeth and launched one last attack with her left leg. _Okay, after that one, I'll- what the?_ She blinked when, instead of dodging or deflecting, Crane hopped onto her ankle. Before she had any time to marvel at his seemingly light weight, she realized that he had dug his talons into her trousers. "Hey, what's the big idea?" she snapped and tried to pull her leg out of his grip. Ignoring her efforts, Crane flapped his giant wings, slowly gaining height. _He's pulling me upwards!_ she suddenly realized and gasped. A small part of her admired the bird's surprising strength, but the rest of her was frantically trying to sink her claws into the stone ground of the courtyard.  
  
Seconds later, she had left the ground.  
  
It took Tigress a few moments to get used to the fact that she was indeed airborne, but she knew exactly what she had to do now. _Kill him. I'm going to kill him. Once I get free, I'm going to nail those wings to the ground!_ Tigress looked up and along her body to better aim at his foot. _Just one kick..._ She flexed her free leg and-  
  
Crane let go.  
  
Tigress yelped when her attempted kick only made her spin around in mid-air. Before she could even come up with a new plan, she felt his talons digging into her trouser leg again. The caught feline looked up yet again and snarled. The bird was _smirking_. Tigress closed her eyes and tried to find her inner center. _Focus, Tigress! This isn't any different than hanging upside down from a tree branch._ She took a deep breath and then quickly pulled her upper body upwards to grab Crane's foot.  
  
"Ah, now we're talking!" he commented even as he shook her slightly, causing her to miss her mark. "Here, let me help you!" His leg snapped upwards, catapulting her to his level.  
  
Without hesitating for a moment, Tigress lashed out with her fist, brushing his left wing. _He won't be able to deflect as well when he needs to flap his wings all the time!_ she thought even as she lost height again.  
  
Crane's foot once again grabbed her ankle before yanking her up once more. "I'm impressed," he told her even as he dodged another punch and caught her ankle again. "You really don't know the first rule about fighting in mid-air!"  
  
_The first rule?_ She frowned lightly. _What was it again? And does he seriously expect me to remember it while hanging upside down in mid-air?_ "Oh yeah?" she snapped up at him and bared her teeth in an attempt to hide her minor insecurity. "I know that I'm going to get through to you with the next attack!"  
  
"Really? This I gotta see! But that's going to be your last chance at remembering the first rule!" And with that, Tigress was flung up a third time. She instantly raised her fist - and lashed out with her right foot, catching him in the side. The kick didn't have much force behind it, but Tigress was pleased that she had broken through his guard at all. "Good-" Crane cheered, even though he was wincing slightly. But then his grin was back, and he gave her a knowing look.  
  
_What's he grinning about?_ Tigress asked herself even as she was losing height again. _I hit him! And I know I can do it again! The next time he-_ She froze. Something was wrong.  
  
Crane hadn't caught her again.  
  
"-bye!" the bird shouted even as Tigress suddenly remembered that tigers - unlike birds - were unable to fly in any other direction than _down_.  
  
The feline hissed madly when she looked at the ground. She hadn't even realized to what insane height Crane had taken them during their short fight, but it had been high enough for her to finally recall the first rule of mid-air fighting: _Stay in control! Make sure you don't fall or take care that your opponent falls with you! I should've held on to him! Should've grabbed him!_ The ground was coming closer at a frightening rate now, and she could already see Master Shifu's shocked and disappointed expression again. _SNAP OUT OF IT, TIGRESS!_ she suddenly told herself. _It'll be ugly either way, but try to land on your feet at least!_ Tigress twisted and turned in mid-air, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. _Gonna crash gonna break my legs my arm my-_  
  
Two sets of talons suddenly grabbed her left wrist, and Tigress wheezed when she was violently pulled out of her free fall.  
  
Moments later, Crane let go again, and she skidded and rolled over the courtyard. When she finally came to halt, Tigress groaned quietly and shook her head. _I'm alive... and I quite likely won't even need a bandage. ...the bird is still going to die._  
  
"Look alive," Crane suddenly whispered, "we got company." The bird was standing next to her and gave her the standard salute. Not daring to look around, Tigress got up and returned it.  
  
"What an interesting display!"  
  
_Master Oogway!_ Tigress's eyes widened, and she gave Crane a quick look. The bird was looking as nervous as she felt. After what felt like an eternity, Crane ended the salute and bowed deeply at the Grand Master. Tigress quickly turned around and did the same. "Master Oogway, I didn't know you were here, too!"  
  
"I couldn't help but notice the sounds of two skilled and determined fighters sparring in our courtyard." The huge tortoise idly waved his hand, and the two young fighters rose again. "Young Master Crane of the Floating Temple..." Master Oogway seemed to be lost in thought. "I assume you studied under Master Pahti?"  
  
"He was one of the two Masters who trained me, yes!" Crane nodded quickly. "The other being Master Bai-He," he added as an afterthought.  
  
"Yes... Pahti always had somewhat... _unique_ lessons to teach his students. Like the one you just taught our Tigress."  
  
Even Master Shifu - who was looking _extremely_ annoyed and disappointed, but wouldn't lecture her while his own Master was doing the talking - seemed to be surprised by this one. "A lesson? He almost let her plummet to death!"  
  
"If students don't respect fighting at great heights, let them fall," Crane intoned with what Tigress feared was practiced ease.  
  
Master Shifu was about to rant about the obvious lunacy of this "lesson", but Master Oogway simply chuckled. "I'm glad he hasn't lost his touch. Very well, then! I believe there is still some time to give you a tour of the Jade Palace before we depart. Master Shifu and I can brief you about Tigress's training schedules along the way."  
  
"Master Oogway!" the red panda finally protested and gestured vaguely at Crane. "Are you certain that this is... _wise_? After what I have seen, I'm not sure if this is the sort of 'training' is appropriate for her! She could have died during a _sparring_ match!"  
  
Tigress frowned lightly when she saw Crane looking down guiltily. _Should I take sides here? I mean... yes, this stunt was crazy, but then again, it did highlight my lack of attention. Maybe I really could learn a thing or two from him... if I don't die first._  
  
"Shifu," Master Oogway replied calmly before Tigress could make up her mind, "how do you feel about us leaving the Jade Palace?"  
  
Master Shifu gave the tortoise a long stare, and one of his eyes twitched lightly. Seemingly random subject changes always annoyed him to no end. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally replied, "I am not perfectly at ease, but I am certain that nothing bad will happen."  
  
"What about the bandits that sometimes camp in the Southern Pass? When we left for a trip the last time, they tried to sneak into the temple and rob it..."  
  
"Yes, and Tigress took care of them," Master Shifu replied with just the slightest hint of pride in his voice.  
  
_Oh yeah, that was an awesome night!_ Tigress allowed herself a quick grin.  
  
"So you are saying that she can protect the Jade Palace?"  
  
"Indeed."  
  
"Including the Hall of Warriors and the thousand scrolls stored there?"  
  
"Of course!"  
  
"She can protect the combined research and insight of several centuries?"  
  
"Yes, she can!" Master Shifu was barely able to hide his irritation by now.  
  
"If you trust her to protect this entire temple and to stand up against anything the world can throw at it," the tortoise slowly concluded and smiled down at her and Crane, "then I trust her to stand up against anything this young crane can throw at her." Master Shifu twitched again, and it took Tigress her last strength to avoid grinning. "Now come, we can discuss training suggestions and limits while we show our new resident around. Tigress, you can retreat to your room to meditate. We will alert you before we leave for our trip."  
  
"Of course, Master Oogway!" Tigress bowed and gave the Kung Fu salute to the three Masters before leaving the courtyard.  
  
_Great. Just great._ Tigress shook her head when she entered her room. _I make an ass out of myself in front of a Kung Fu Master, I get scolded for a one-time mistake by Master Shifu, and then I almost plummet to death... which I could've avoided if I hadn't insisted on a demonstration! Argh!_ She glared at the bamboo mat in the center of her room. _There is no way I'll manage to meditate after all that has happened today. But then again, the point of meditating is to leave all these worries behind, so I should at least try..._ She sat down on the mat and closed her eyes. _Inner peace... inner peace..._  
  
Half a minute later, she had fallen asleep.  



	3. Authority

Plik.  
  
"Psssst!"  
  
Plik.  
  
Tigress idly scratched her cheek. She had felt something... something tiny... _Musta been some sorta insect..._  
  
Plik.  
  
"PSSSST!"  
  
Her left ear twitched. _What sort of insect makes such sounds? It sounds almost like somebody quietly trying to get my attention..._ It took a moment for the implication to sink in, but then, she sat up instantly and looked around. "...nobody?" she whispered and frowned. Three tiny stones were lying close to her, but nobody was at her small window, and the door would have made a sound. _Speaking of sound..._ She closed her eyes and focused. Quiet footsteps. Somebody with little weight and tremendous skill. Somebody who knew exactly which floorboards squeaked when you step on them.  
  
 _Master Shifu!_ she finally realized and almost wheezed. _I'm supposed to be meditating!_ Without making a sound, she slid into a lotus position, closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. _If he's here to seriously check up on me, he'll look straight through this fake. But maybe... maybe..._  
  
The door was quietly pushed open. "Tigress, we're about to leave," Master Shifu whispered and immediately started to walk away again.  
  
The feline let out a relieved sigh and stood up. _Good thing he's in his busy mood! Even though his rant about faked meditation would have been nothing, compared to him catching me asleep... again..._ She quickly pocketed the stones and hurried after her Master.  
  
The first thing she noticed when she arrived at the courtyard was that the atmosphere had drastically changed somehow. Master Oogway was still his calm and cheery self, and Master Shifu was as grumpy as usual, but Crane... She frowned lightly. The bird wasn't standing at his full height and kept his wings extremely close to his body. Tigress couldn't help but think that he was expecting a storm. _Or maybe the storm has already passed by._ She gave Master Shifu a quick look. _What did I miss?_  
  
"Very well, then," Master Oogway announced and waved his large cane towards the stairs leading down to the Valley of Peace. "I imagine we will be gone for at least two weeks, but it all depends on the circumstances. I expect the two of you will take care of everything, yes?"  
  
"Of course, Grand Master Oogway," Crane immediately replied and bowed deeply. Tigress wasn't completely certain, but she felt that his movements looked... forced. She looked up at Master Oogway, and the tortoise gave her a short, but meaningful look.  
  
 _Okay, now I really want to know what I missed!_ She quickly bowed and gave both Masters the Kung Fu salute. "You can count on us."  
  
"Wonderful," Master Shifu said and looked up at Crane. "Any questions?"  
  
Crane held his gaze, and Tigress couldn't help but shiver when she noticed the odd mix of terror and hatred in his eyes. "None, Master Shifu," he finally whispered.  
  
Master Shifu's eyes narrowed slightly, but he just nodded and turned to leave. "Good. I expected no less of a student of the Floating Temple."  
  
They watched the two Masters walking down the stairs in silence. When they were finally out of sight, Crane sighed deeply, and Tigress was half afraid that he'd collapse. "Hey, you okay?" she asked quietly and gave him a concerned look.  
  
"Hm?" The bird gave her a confused look, as if not having noticed her so far. "Oh, yeah, sure. I'm fine." He started to wander across the courtyard, but it was fairly obvious that he wasn't actually going anywhere.  
  
Shaking her head, Tigress quickly caught up with him. "It was you who woke me up, wasn't it?" He gave her a look and smiled weakly. Tigress gave him a friendly grin. "Thanks for that. And also thanks for covering for me earlier. You know... the bit about the stance?"  
  
"It was nothing," Crane told her. "Students got to stick together, after all."  
  
"You're not a student anymore," Tigress pointed out. "You're a Master, which puts you on the same level as-"  
  
"Don't be ridiculous," Crane interrupted her sharply. "You're close to being a Master yourself! Do you honestly think that you'd be on his level then? In this temple, I'm nothing more than a student. Just like you."  
  
Tigress raised an eyebrow and tried to figure out if the bird was bitter or serious. _Most likely a mix of both, but why? Seriously, could I possibly have picked a worse time for a nap?_  
  
"Speaking of which," Crane suddenly mused and let out a sigh. "Come with me. You still got some training to do before dinner."  
  
 _Now we're talking!_ She allowed herself a wide grin and followed him into the training hall. "What're we going to focus on first? How to work around your White Crane style? How to avoid plummeting to death?"  
  
Tigress frowned lightly when the bird didn't reply. Instead, he simply opened a large chest and took out a scroll. "Ah yes," he muttered after taking a quick look inside. "Three laps around the training hall. Then once through the obstacle course at your own pace. If you got the time, you can do a few crunches, too."  
  
"You're kidding, right?" she asked and chuckled nervously. "Like, this is some sort of Floating Temple joke you play on new students? A sort of Master-Student bonding ritual where you teach me some sort of lesson in humility or whatever?"  
  
Crane gave her a completely blank look. "Just go."  
  
"...wait, you're serious?" Tigress snatched the scroll out of Crane's wings and unrolled it. And before she read even a single word, Tigress knew what was going on. "This is Master Shifu's handwriting."  
  
"Correct," he replied quietly, not quite meeting her eyes.  
  
"How many more scrolls with these laughable daily training instructions are in-"  
  
"Thirty."  
  
"Let me guess," she started and rubbed her forehead. Everything suddenly made sense. "After your tour of the temple, Master Shifu took you aside and pretty much tore you to shreds for your sparring stunt?" He nodded weakly. "And while you were down, he kicked you a few times by saying that he'd kill you if you taught me anything?" Another nod, even weaker than the last. "And he made these idiotic plans because after our sparring match, he thinks that I'll get myself killed unless he supervises my training personally?" This time, the bird just shrugged. Tigress crossed her arms. "And you're actually going to play along with this?"  
  
Crane nervously scratched the floor with his talons. "He's our Master... How can I not?"  
  
"How can you?" she asked back and threw the scroll at his feet.  
  
"Just... just do it, okay? These are instructions by your Master, after all."  
  
Tigress could see that Crane was deeply conflicted about this, but she decided to press on, anyway. "Make me," she muttered and dropped into a lotus pose, crossing her legs before she had even completely touched the ground.  
  
"...what?" Crane asked and flapped his wings anxiously. "You can't do this!" He glanced at the entrance of the building, as if expecting Master Shifu to kick in the doors at any moment.  
  
"You know what I think?" she asked calmly, completely ignoring the fact that the bird was about to panic. "I think you got a problem with authority."  
  
He froze in mid-flap. "Me? A problem with authority? Are you _mental_? Just look at you! _You_ got a problem with authority!"  
  
"I refuse to follow openly idiotic instructions," Tigress replied and smiled. "You on the other hand ignore your own feelings just because some guy you just met told you to."  
  
"Master Shifu is not just some guy!" Crane snapped. "It's true that I just met him today, but he is still my Master! And yours, too! And what do students do? They follow orders!"  
  
Tigress tapped her chin with one finger. "The Masters of the Floating Temple must've been pretty strict, huh?"  
  
"You're lacking discipline!" Crane hissed without answering her question. "It's no wonder you're not a Master yet!"  
  
"Touched a nerve there, didn't I?" she asked and smirked. "Come on, tell me about the rules there."  
  
For long seconds, Crane gave her the most hostile glare she had ever seen. Then, finally, he sighed and took off his hat. "Don't get me started," he muttered.  
  
"Come on," Tigress told him. "The worst Master Shifu does is ranting about my performance and making me do extra chores. I wanna know what made you respect your Masters to the degree of being genuinely scared."  
  
His right foot idly played with the scroll. "In the Floating Temple," he finally started, "you could get punished quickly. You didn't even have to go as far as actively disobeying orders or slacking off. Even little stuff could earn you harsh punishment. For example..."  
  
"...messing up a stance you really should know?" she asked and smiled sheepishly.  
  
He finally looked into her eyes and chuckled quietly. "Yeah, things like that. If you messed up like that in the Floating Temple, your Master would make you wait in front of the temple for an hour or even for the rest of the day depending on the severity of the offense."  
  
Tigress blinked. "...and? That's got to be the lamest punishment _ever_."  
  
Crane gave her a wide-eyed stare before shaking his head. "You really have no idea of where the Floating Temple had been, right?"  
  
"Well... no," she admitted quietly and frowned.  
  
"I'll give you a hint," Crane hissed. "The place was destroyed by an _avalanche_." Tigress gasped when the implications hit her, but Crane ignored it. "Snow! Everywhere! The entire temple had been built at the top of a mountain that is most likely higher than this one! Even with a thick coat, you would have to keep moving the entire time just to avoid freezing to death!" His talons squeezed the scroll tightly now. "And trust me: After two or three times outside, you _want_ to obey your Masters. They tell you to jump, and you jump. They tell you to run through some obstacle course even after your wing cramped up, and you do it. Because everything is better than feeling half your body go numb from the cold!"  
  
 _Note to self: Thank Master Shifu for being such a nice and jolly guy by comparison._ Tigress slowly got to her feet again. "I'm... sorry," she whispered. "Really, I didn't know about that. But... look, we're not like that."  
  
He gave her a haunted look. "You didn't have to listen to what he told me..."  
  
"I had to listen to him for more than a decade. Trust me, I know what it feels like to be chewed out by him. But he's not perfect, and in the end, he just cares about results. He may not openly say so, but if you improve your performance by _not_ following his orders, he'll acknowledge that." Crane didn't reply, but he at least didn't look quite as terrified anymore. "And right now, I think that I'm going to learn a lot more from you than from these scrolls."  
  
"...okay, fine," Crane whispered after a long pause. "I'll give it a try." He picked up his hat and placed it on his head again.  
  
Tigress flashed him a grin. "That's the spirit! So c'mon, we still got a few hours of daylight left!"  
  
He hesitated again. "Well... I think I should study his reports about your past progress and performance before seriously-"  
  
"Oh come ON!" she groaned and briefly considered smacking him. "We just went over this, didn't we?"  
  
"This is different! If I know what and how you trained, I can build up on that!"  
  
"Why did he even write those reports if he wanted me to train by the scrolls?"  
  
"He wrote them over the years, I think," Crane admitted and pointed at the chest. "I found them in there, under all those training scrolls. I guess he just picked the first suitable container and didn't bother to empty it. Guy's been in a hurry, packing his bags and writing those training plans."  
  
"And what do you expect me to do in the meantime?" she asked and crossed her arms.  
  
The bird gave her a long look and finally reached into one of his pockets with one foot to take out a small key. Tigress noticed that he seemed to do a lot with his feet, but figured that his talons granted him greater precision than his wings. "This is the key to my room in the inn. Grab my bag from the bed and bring it here. I already paid today's rent, so just give the key to the inn keeper." When Tigress simply glared at him, he chuckled. "Ah, you want a challenge, right?"  
  
"I want to kick your feathered butt all the way down to the Valley of Peace for making me do your chores," Tigress replied and smirked. "But a challenge would be okay, too."  
  
"Fine, fine." Crane gave her a long look. "I'm sure you got leg weights somewhere, right? Use those, and only step on every... let's say fifth step."  
  
"I thought you wanted to give me a challenge, not a trivial task." Tigress yawned dramatically. "I could jump down ten steps even with the heaviest leg weights!"  
  
The bird cocked his head. "Did I say that this restriction would only apply to your way down?"  
  
She froze. "Wait... you want me to also take every fifth step on my way _back up_? With weights? All the way?"  
  
"I thought you wanted a challenge," Crane replied innocently. "Of course, if you're not up to it, we might find something more... fitting for your level." He picked up the scroll with Master Shifu's first training plan and smirked.  
  
Instead of replying, Tigress simply snatched the key out of his grasp with a low snarl. A quiet voice in the back of her head reminded her that following Shifu's scrolls would have been her first vacation in about a decade, and she gritted her teeth. _This better be worth it!_  



	4. Memorable breakfast

Tigress was up and running seconds after hearing the morning gong. After making her bed with a well-trained flick of the wrist, she swiftly opened her door and stepped into the corridor. "Good morning, Master Shifu." The words were out before she remembered that Master Shifu was far away by now. She cocked her head at the empty corridor and frowned. The door to Crane's room - he had insisted on getting a room on the students' floor instead of one of the better rooms reserved for Masters - was open, but a quick glance confirmed that the bird had already left. His small bag was sitting in a corner, right next to a pile of scrolls. "Awesome. I got two cramps on the stairs, and he didn't even open the bag he had made me fetch!"  
  
"Really, I have to teach him the morning routine," she muttered as she made her way to the kitchen. "Either he behaves like a Master and waits for me in the corridor, or he acts like a student and comes out after the gong." The complete absence of the smell of food irritated her further. "Wow." She rolled her eyes when she saw the empty kitchen. "Oh, no, Master Crane! Please allow your humble student to prepare breakfast and to deliver it to wherever you are!"  
  
She snarled quietly as she prepared some tea and a few meatballs. Not the breakfast of champions, but she was frustrated enough not to care. The bowl, two cups and the pot of tea were quickly placed on a tray, and Tigress tried - and failed - not to feel like a maid. "Hate the guy," she hissed as she walked across the courtyard. She didn't hear a sound, but something told her to start looking for her Master in the training hall.  
  
 _Gotcha,_ she thought after opening the large door with one hand. Master Crane was standing on the brim of the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom with his beak held under one wing, and Tigress wasn't quite sure whether he was meditating or sleeping. She was about to cough politely to get his attention when she finally saw the slight additions the bird had made to the training hall. "Oh Hell," she muttered when she saw what must have been dozens of crossbows. Each one had been installed on one of the flexible mounts under the roof, each one was loaded, and each one was aiming straight at the Jade Tortoise.  
  
"Ah, Tigress," Crane greeted her softly and raised his head. "Wonderful! You made breakfast!"  
  
Tigress smiled nervously, trying not to make any sudden movements. She wasn't sure how he had rigged the firing mechanisms, but the numerous ropes and pulleys looked far too ominous for her. "Yes... I did," she finally managed to reply. _Think fast, Tigress! What will Master Shifu think once he finds out that Crane managed to kill himself on his first day?_ She briefly gnawed on her lower lip. _I mean, sure, I'm sort of the senior... er... Kung Fu person here, so it's kind of my responsibility to keep the casualties low, but... it would be his own fault, right? But I don't actually want him to get shot! Well, at least not now... and not without me pulling the trigger..._ Her aching legs made it hard to feel too much sympathy for him. Still, she figured that she should prevent this mess. "Yes... breakfast!" she finally cheered. "It's tasty! And... you should really come here and try it!"  
  
"You know," Crane suddenly started and walked along the edge of the turtle shell, "I read Master Shifu's evaluation of you last night."  
  
"Uh-huh?" Tigress asked, trying not to cringe. _If only I knew what triggers the firing mechanism!_  
  
"Fascinating stuff, really. Not too charming, though. I mean... I know that Masters tend to play down their students' achievements, but wow, you can't be _that_ bad!"  
  
"Errrrr... thanks, I guess?"  
  
"On the other side, there is my personal opinion of you, based on what I saw yesterday," he continued without really listening to her. "I thought you're pretty good, but..."  
  
"Buuuuut?" Tigress asked, trying not grit her teeth. _Maybe he_ is _mad,_ she suddenly realized. _Maybe I'm actually listening to some sort of deranged speech about his views on everything before he pulls the trigger! ...maybe I shouldn't egg him on, then._  
  
"But now I'm not so sure anymore. Master Shifu's evaluation made me doubt my own judgment." He idly scratched the jade surface with his talons. "And I figured that, if I am supposed to train you properly, I should eliminate these doubts and decide whose view is right. Right?"  
  
"Sure... sure... just... couldn't we eliminate those doubts over breakfast... _here_... away from those arrows...?"  
  
"Oh, you noticed!" he cheered and hopped around on the turtle shell. "Good, then we can get started! Try not to drop the tray!"  
  
"Wait, what?" was all Tigress managed to ask before Master Crane threw a tiny stone at a small lever. _Oh, crap._  
  
The various ropes and pulleys started to move simultaneously, and Tigress's jaw dropped when she heard the first sound of a flying arrow. She only saw a blur of wood and metal racing towards Crane, who-  
  
"Damn!" she wheezed when Crane deflected the arrow with one of his large wings. _No wonder that I couldn't get through his defenses! His reflexes are almost as good as mine!_ Crane moved along the brim of the Jade Tortoise, deflecting a few more arrows on the way. Then, for just a moment, his eyes met hers, and she could see him smirk. _Oh, I get it, you're feeling smug because-_  
  
 _INCOMING!_  
  
Tigress moved without thinking, completely trusting her reflexes as she dodged the arrow that had been aimed at her shoulder. _Aimed?_ she asked herself, but then gritted her teeth. _Of course! He had deflected it towards me on purpose!_ As if to confirm her assumption, more arrows were flying towards her. Knowing what was expected of her, she used the quick and abrupt moves of her Tiger style to move out of the way, all the time keeping the tray out of harm's way.  
  
After what felt like hours, the hailstorm stopped. Tigress was panting quietly, standing on her left foot and balancing the tray on her outstretched right leg. _Hate the guy... so freaking much..._  
  
"Wonderful, you didn't even spill the tea!" Crane commented as he landed next to her. Ignoring her trembling leg, he lifted the lid of the tea pot and smiled. "Ahhhh, that smells wonderful!" Then, finally, he picked up the tray, allowing her to stand upright again.  
  
"You tried to _kill_ me!" Tigress hissed angrily, shooting him a glare. _And to think that I made him breakfast!_  
  
Crane blinked. "Kill you? I wouldn't think of it!"  
  
"You shot ARROWS at me!" Tigress screamed and gestured frantically at the door, which now looked a bit like a porcupine.  
  
"I only directed small groups at you," he told her as he placed the tray onto a small table. "If you had failed to dodge a group, I would have stopped. And none of the groups would have hit vital organs." He _somehow_ picked up chopsticks with one of his feet and shoveled a meatball down his beak. "So really, at worst you would've had an arrow sticking in your shoulder by now."  
  
"Gee, that makes me feel _so_ much better!" Tigress poured some tea into both cups and then picked up her own set of chopsticks.  
  
"You dodged them, though," Crane pointed out and smiled. "Just as I expected."  
  
"So in other words-" A meatball disappeared into her mouth and was quickly swallowed. "-if you had been wrong, I would be bleeding to death right now?"  
  
"More dramatic than I would have put it, but yes," the bird admitted and shrugged. "What can I say? I have faith in my evaluation skills, and I was convinced that Master Shifu's assessment was overly pessimistic."  
  
Tigress frowned. "Master Shifu is one of the most respected Kung Fu Masters on the planet. With all due respect-" She stopped when he held up his wing.  
  
"You think that a young Master who just arrived yesterday is in no position to say that Master Shifu was wrong."  
  
"Pretty much, yeah." She shrugged. "No offense, really. But he monitored my training for _years_."  
  
"Don't worry, I understand. And I guess you're right. Master Shifu can't have been this wrong all the time." He gave her a frown. "But I can tell you that his observations are completely at odds with your sparring performance or your ability to dodge arrows."  
  
"So who is correct?" Tigress asked and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Maybe both views are correct." Crane tapped his beak, as if considering something. "Could you run through the obstacle course, please?" he finally asked, making her frown.  
  
 _Now what?_ she asked herself even as she picked up two more meatballs and hastily shoved them into her mouth. _If Master Shifu really gave me a bad rating while Crane gave me a good one, how can they both be right?_  
  
"No, no," he muttered when she was approaching the starting line and pointed at the far end of the obstacle course. "I want you to start back there."  
  
"Um, you begin at this end," she pointed out, and cocked her head. "The course was built so that people could first-"  
  
"I know. That's the point." He pointed at the finish line again. "Please."  
  
"Sure, whatever," she muttered and walked around the obstacle course. When she was in position, she gave him a questioning look.  
  
Crane simply pulled a lever and waited a few seconds for the obstacles to come to life. Once he was satisfied with the way things were running, he gave her a nod. "You may begin."  
  
 _Seriously, what's the point?_ Tigress asked herself as she jumped into the Field of Fiery Death. _Backwards, forwards, what's the-_ She gasped and quickly jumped sideways before the tube right under her right foot erupted. _Stupid, stupid!_ Tigress scolded herself as she let her quick moves and her reflexes guide her through the field of fire. _There IS a difference! The Field isn't symmetric - my standard patterns won't work!_  
  
Panting slightly, she finally made her way into the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. _Okay, at least those work as usual!_ It was a far cry from her record time, but she managed to get through the rows of training dummies quickly enough. _Now, just a few moves on the Jade Tortoise and-_ A growl escaped her throat when she spotted Crane standing on the turtle shell again. He bowed slightly, as if inviting her. _A sparring match? Here and now?_  
  
But instead of sparring, Crane simply opted for observing her moves as she tried to hit him. He kept a large enough distance to give her plenty of space to fire off some of her more impressive moves, and after less than half a minute, he waved her on. "No need for the rings up there," he remarked even as he took off again.  
  
 _Good,_ she thought and smiled, _that just leaves my favorite toy: The Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion._ She jumped onto the spinning serpent logs and assumed her fighting stance. Her smile quickly faded when she realized that, just like the Field of Fiery Death, this part of the obstacle course also looked a lot different, coming from the wrong side.  
  
Tigress frantically dodged and weaved through the swinging clubs, trying to get to the other side without being- "AGH!" One of the clubs had flown past her just a bit too closely, and one of its spikes had scratched her right shoulder. _Don't stumble, don't stumble, don't stumble!_ She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her balance on the spinning logs while dodging the remaining clubs. _Just... one... little... JUMP!_ She hit the floor with a low thud and sank to one knee. _SAFE!_  
  
"You okay?" Crane was standing next to her, looking extremely worried.  
  
"BACK OFF!" she snapped and batted at his feet with her left arm.  
  
He let out a startled squawk and hopped backwards. "I'm sorry!" he cried, flapping his wings nervously. "I honestly didn't expect you to get hit!"  
  
She was ready to pounce. And she _wanted_ it. Badly. _Calm down, Tigress!_ she quickly told herself and took a deep breath. _This isn't his fault. At least not directly. Even though it was his idiotic idea to start at the end._ She groaned. "Just tell me how bad it is."  
  
The bird carefully moved around her to take a look at her back. Then he let out a sigh of relief. "Just a scratch. Some blood, but it doesn't look serious." Without waiting for any instructions or requests, he went to the box with the medical supplies. "Just take off your vest and I'll bandage it," he muttered while rummaging through the box with his right foot.  
  
Tigress reached for her vest's buttons, but then froze and blushed lightly under her fur. "Yeah, _right_ ," she said and gave him a look.  
  
"Huh? Oh, come _on_! How're you planning to bandage your own-"  
  
"I'll think of something!" _Maybe he just got me into this mess to check me out! That's not too unlikely! I bet he was hoping for my vest to rip open and-... what the Hell am I thinking? Ugh. Maybe one of the clubs hit my head or something._ "Just leave me alone while I take care of this. And when you come in again, I want to hear an explanation for your whole talk about you and Master Shifu being right at the same time and how me running the obstacle course backwards is connected to this!"  
  
He gestured vaguely and finally sighed. "Okay, fine... I'll wait outside..."  
  
 _Okay, why did I just make such a big fuss about my vest?_ Tigress wondered when Crane had closed the door behind him. She took off her vest and tried to figure out the best way to wrap a bandage around her shoulder. _I mean... Master Shifu has seen me without my vest... and so have some of the servants here. And yet... this feels different, somehow. Maybe it's because of the adrenaline rush I had after he almost got me killed twice within just a few minutes. Maybe it's because he almost let me fall to death yesterday. Maybe it's because he's the closest thing to a fellow student I ever had. Or maybe... maybe..._  
  
"I hope you're not bleeding to death in there," Crane's voice from behind the door made her snap out of her daydream.  
  
"In your dreams!" Tigress snapped back and smirked. _Loss of blood! Yeah, that must be it. It's making me think weird things._  



	5. Motivation

"You can come in again!" Tigress shouted even as she was fiddling with the last button of her vest.  
  
"About time!" Crane - after events of the past hour, Tigress didn't really feel like calling him _Master_ Crane anymore - complained and pushed open the heavy door with his wing. "It feels like I've been waiting for months!"  
  
She merely rolled her eyes. Bandaging her own shoulder had proven to be more complicated than she had anticipated, but she would never admit that to him. "So?"  
  
"So what?" he asked back, pouring himself a cup of tea.  
  
"The EXPLANATION!" Tigress snapped angrily and briefly considered to slap the cup out of his talons. _Yeah, right,_ her common sense chimed in at the last moment, _because it's_ such _a smart idea to attack a Kung Fu Master right after being injured._  
  
He thoughtfully took a sip and gave her a look. "You know," he finally started, "maybe you should try meditating without falling asleep for a change. It would do wonders for your inner peace."  
  
Her claws sprang free before she could stop herself. "INNER PEACE?" she roared, gesturing wildly with her left and slightly less wildly with her right arm to avoid stressing her injured side. "You shot arrows at me! You got me injured in the obstacle course!" She hesitated for a moment. "And you didn't even open your stupid bag yet!"  
  
The bird chuckled quietly and put the cup down again. "True, true, and true. However, all things considered, you did very well in every task!" He stopped laughing and gave her a more serious look. "Which brings me to the question at hand, doesn't it?"  
  
"Yes, it does," Tigress replied quietly and narrowed her eyes a bit. _Apparently, Master Shifu thinks that I'm really bad, compared to how much I trained so far. Crane on the other hand thinks that I'm pretty good, but then he conceded that both views may be right, so what's the deal?_  
  
"Well, the answer is very much based on your... somewhat unique situation here." Crane slowly approached her, seemingly oblivious to the way her tail twitched.  
  
 _Why does he have to be so much like his fighting style?_ she asked herself and gritted her teeth. _Can't he answer a question directly? And what is so unique about my situation, anyway?_  
  
"I think I'm right in the sense that your reflexes and your technique are practically at a level _above_ that required for a Master."  
  
Tigress beamed. "You think so?" She had to focus hard to avoid bouncing like a little girl. _Praise! Genuine praise! Almost forgot how good that feels!_  
  
"However, I think that Master Shifu's evaluation is correct in the sense that the entire package is definitely not at Master level," Crane continued, causing Tigress to discard all thoughts of bouncing.  
  
"...entire package?" she echoed and cocked her head. "If I got the reflexes and the technique down, what's left?" _Ugh, I bet it'll be the meditating part._  
  
"It's all up here," the bird simply replied, pointing at his head.  
  
"You mean I need a silly hat, too?" Tigress asked, causing Crane to chuckle softly.  
  
"While I think that you'd look lovely with a hat, I meant... how should I say it... the way you use your skills. Your attitude. Personality. Stuff like that."  
  
There was a long pause. "...what's wrong with my personality?" Tigress finally asked.  
  
He groaned. "Nothing is _wrong_ with it. It's just... you're not making the most out of your talents. You've been going through the motions here in the obstacle course, timing yourself just for the sake of having some sort of incentive. But mastering your style requires more than simply being able to mimic the stances described on the Tiger Style Scroll and being able to perform a small set of movements in the shortest time. It's also about being able to deal with new situations quickly. Aerial combat is one such example where you would have to modify your fighting style a bit in order to survive. Another, far more trivial example would be going through the obstacle course the wrong way. But the moment I took away your memorized paths, you were struggling already. The only thing that saved your life were your superior reflexes, and I think this is why your Master gave you such a bad-."  
  
"Hey now, hold on!" Tigress snapped and gave him a glare that cut off any protest. "I trained under Master Shifu practically every day for more than a decade! I have had more sparring sessions with him than you likely had with... with... anybody!"  
  
"Yes, such practice sessions would normally help you to figure out new ways of applying your skills in a fight," he explained unnecessarily. "But tell me: How often did you beat him?"  
  
She gave him a long stare. "What?"  
  
"How often did you beat him? How often did you feel like it was actual sparring and not just him looking down on you?"  
  
Her hands moved through the air on their own, describing vague circles. "Never, of course! I mean... hello? He's Master Shifu! He's almost a Grand Master!" _He once made me hit the ground while studying his monthly reports, for crying out loud! And Crane asks me if I ever_ beat _him?_  
  
Much to her surprise, Crane remained completely calm. "Exactly." After taking a brief look around, he motioned her towards the training dummy. "Here, we got this-"  
  
"Adversary," Tigress filled in the name automatically, having accepted by now that Crane wouldn't give her straight answers. "We call it 'The Adversary'," she explained when he gave her a questioning look.  
  
"Right, right." He gave it a light nudge, making the painted and inflated leather sack wobble back and forth. "So, we got this... Adversary. Okay?"  
  
"...yeah, and?"  
  
"Can you do a handstand on it?"  
  
"Um." She frowned deeply. "This... isn't exactly what it's normally used for. You see, it-"  
  
"Yes, yes, I know what it's used for." He sighed dramatically. "We had one of those at the Floating Temple, too. Even though ours didn't have a face... or ears..."  
  
Tigress decided that this was not the time to mention that Master Shifu had decorated it for Tai Lung because she feared that bringing this up would only derail the conversation. "And you want me to do a handstand on its head?"  
  
"I do, yes." When he noticed her suspicious glance, he stepped away from it. "No, I won't prod it while you're on it. And I also won't throw anything or do anything else like that. Just... do it, please."  
  
She cocked her way this way and that, trying to imagine the way the dummy would sway once she jumped onto it. Then, finally, she placed her hands on its head and kicked herself off the ground. "Oh boy come on can do it don't don't don't yeah that's it nice and whoa now!" The Adversary swayed a lot more than she had imagined, but her feline agility, combined with her Kung Fu training, helped her keep her balance. After a few seconds, she had managed to reduce her own movements to a minimum and sighed happily. "There we go. Happy?"  
  
"Yes, very nice indeed!" Crane - he looked absolutely ridiculous from her upside down point of view - gave her an encouraging smile. "And now switch to just one hand."  
  
"...what?"  
  
"Raise one hand and balance on the other one," Crane patiently clarified his instructions.  
  
 _It's hard enough to balance like this, and now he wants me to use just one hand? This is ridiculous!_ She was about to tell him just that, but then reconsidered her plan. _No. Ridiculous it might be, but it shouldn't be impossible. I think I can do it, so why not give it a try? If I quit now, he'll just think Master Shifu's low opinion of me is completely correct! This is about technique and reflexes! Things he just praised!_ After taking a deep breath, she started to shift her left hand to the edge of the dummy's head. _Don't rush it. Easy now..._ Finally, she had reached the edge and slowly let her hand slip off the leathery surface.  
  
The flaw in her plan hit her _right_ before her body started to fall. _CENTER OF GRAVITY, FOR CRYING OUT-_ Her reflexes kicked in automatically, extending her free arm towards the ground and using it to guide her into a quick roll. _-LOUD! Dammit!_ "Gimme another try," she hissed instantly without even looking at Crane.  
  
After two more tries, she actually managed to stay balanced for a few seconds before the dummy swayed out of control. "Almost got it," she muttered even as she placed her hands on its head again.  
  
"No, it's fine."  
  
Tigress froze. It only now hit her that he had watched her in silence so far. "But," she started, gesturing at the Adversary, "I can do this! I swear! It just takes some-"  
  
"Don't worry, I know." He smiled gently. "But now I want you to try something else."  
  
 _Totally could've done it. Just one or two more tries..._ She huffed and gave the training dummy a glare. "Fine, what now?"  
  
"Use only one finger."  
  
 _...come again?_ "One... finger?" The feline's eyes moved to the Adversary, then back to Crane. "You want me to balance? On its head? Using only one _finger_?"  
  
"I do." The bird was looking awfully smug.  
  
"Yeah, riiiiiiiiiight." She crossed her arms, waiting for him to laugh and tell her that this was just some obscure Floating Temple joke. When Crane simple gave her an expectant look, she shook her head. "That's impossible. Really. I can _barely_ balance on one hand, and you expect me to just use one _finger_? That's not even worth trying!"  
  
He bowed slightly. "Correct."  
  
 _Not even Master Oogway could understand this crazy bird._ "You mean you expected this?"  
  
"I was _hoping_ for it," he told her and gestured at the dummy. "You illustrated my point nicely!"  
  
"There was a point?"  
  
He hopped onto the Adversary's head. Tigress noted that he didn't do a handstand, only to remind herself that he didn't have hands to begin with. _Besides, his hat would fall off if he tried to balance on his wings,_ she reasoned, then almost snickered when she realized how silly the thought had been.  
  
"See, you were able to do a handstand with relative ease," he interrupted her thoughts. "That is where your Kung Fu training is right now." He then lifted one leg, stretching his large wings out for extra balance. "Balancing on one hand was a challenge for you. It was something you couldn't do right now-"  
  
"But I would've been able to do it after a while," Tigress quickly added, even though she wasn't quite sure if she was protesting or merely completing his sentence.  
  
"Exactly," he replied and waved his free foot. "This... is the level of a Master." Tigress opened her mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and instead just frowned. When he realized that she wasn't going to say anything, Crane flapped his wings once to hop off the Adversary.  
  
"And the single finger?" Tigress finally asked. She had a good idea where this was going by now, but she wasn't quite sure what the bigger lesson would be.  
  
"That would be Master Shifu's level." He shrugged. "Okay, actually, his level would be equal to, what, balancing on your whiskers or something, but I didn't want to make it _too_ obvious or over the top."  
  
"And the point I illustrated is...?"  
  
He looked straight into her eyes. "That your perspective is off." When he saw her eyes turning into narrow slits, he sighed. "Let me put it this way: Next to Master Shifu, you will always look like a rookie student. Your chances of beating him are practically zero. So I think you _stopped trying_." Crane gave her a helpless shrug. "I deeply apologize if I'm wrong, of course. But you're the only student here, so you lack people to compare yourself to. All you see is Master Shifu and how you can never reach him. And why bother improving when the gap between you and him will always be nearly infinite? So you don't give it all you got and just go through the motions, to put it harshly."  
  
 _This is nonsense!_ Tigress averted her eyes and started to pace. _What does he know about my time here? Nothing, that's what! Training with Master Shifu got me where I'm now!_ But there was another thought nagging at her: _Well, yeah, but where would I be if I had had some competition at my level? Would I have given more if-_ She shook her head. _Stop it! You're already assuming that he is right about you not giving it all! And he's not! He's wrong! I gave it all I got! All the time! Right? ...right?_  
  
The self-delusion lasted for less than ten seconds. _Yeah, right._  
  
Deep down, she knew he was right. Or at least that he wasn't quite as wrong as she would have liked. _The sparring match with him felt... different than those with Master Shifu. Did I really lose my drive over the years? Could it be this simple?_ She frowned. _Some competition might have fueled my motivation, and maybe the rest would have fallen into place then..._  
  
She shook her head. _No use worrying over what might have been. I've been Master Shifu's sole student, and I'm close to becoming a Master! All I need is... is... motivation: The knowledge that he is somebody I_ can _defeat if I give my best... and maybe improve in one or two small fields._ She turned to face him and smirked. "I think I understand now, Crane."  
  
"You do?" he asked and cocked his head, clearly not having expected this sort of reaction.  
  
"You're a Master, so once I manage to solidly drive you into the ground, I can ask Master Shifu about my title, right?" _You see, bird, this is the way of the tiger: We see our goal, and then we move in for the kill. No long-winded wing-waving, no fancy pirouettes, no detours._  
  
Crane chuckled quietly. "Not how I would have phrased it, but yes. I will try to pinpoint the areas which you should train a bit more, and through some light sparring, we will-" He blinked when he saw her shifting into her fighting stance. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Sparring," Tigress told him and flashed him a smug grin.  
  
"You're injured," he pointed out, barely managing to hide his amused expression.  
  
"I'm motivated, Crane," she countered and flexed her muscles.  
  
"Why did you stop calling me 'Master Crane'? Is it because of the arrows? Or still because of the bag?" He snickered quietly. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. Let your Master teach you some respect..."  
  
 _My cockiness will be my undoing,_ Tigress realized when he assumed his own fighting stance. _But I promise: No matter how often you smack me down, Crane, I_ will _defeat you._ "Let's do this..." she whispered and smirked.  



	6. ...the harder they fall

The first fighting-related lesson that Master Shifu had taught Tigress had been: "When you fall, always bring up your arms so you don't land on your face." Tigress had simply replied that she always landed on her feet. And she even had been a bit smug about it. Her Master had simply smiled.  
  
And now, after hitting the stairs leading down to the village face-first and skidding to a halt, Tigress began to understand why. "Ow." _Master Shifu never threw me down the stairs! And I had never been so worn out that I couldn't even flip in mid-air before hitting the ground!_ She struggled to get up again. _Okay, mostly because he never bothered to let our sparring escalate this far._  
  
"Oh, good, you're still alive!"  
  
Tigress groaned. _Crane._ "Disappointed?" she asked without even looking up at him. In a real-world situation, she would have had to guard against further attacks, but so far, Crane had always allowed her to get back to her feet before resuming the fight. _Which has happened... seven times so far? Ooof. And he hadn't even taken the fight into the air!_ She gritted her teeth as she rose to her feet again. Crane cocked his head, waiting for her next move. _Come on, Tigress! You can't quit until you landed at least one solid hit!_ The fight so far had been embarrassingly uneven, and she had to admit that Crane was good. _No, not just good. I'm good. He's just... better. A bit. Not much. Though that little bit made all the difference here. And things would have been even worse if he had left the ground._ Tigress sighed. _Oh, who am I kidding? I had been injured and exhausted even before we started._ She lowered her head as she brought up her arms to offer him the traditional salute. Master Shifu had given her long explanations about the customs and rules describing who would do the salute first, but Tigress had condensed all of them into three words which applied to most standard situations: _Loser goes first._ "I give up."  
  
Crane didn't return the salute.  
  
She blinked, trying to come up with an explanation for this unusual behavior. _What's wrong? Is he mad? Does he insist on continuing this fight until I pass out? Or maybe-_ She groaned and lowered her arms again. _Of course._ "I give up... _Master_ Crane," Tigress sighed as she repeated the salute.  
  
Almost immediately, the bird brought up his wings to return it. "You fought well, Tigress," he commented and finished the salute, allowing Tigress to do the same.  
  
"Thank you, Master Crane." For the first time since her last trip to the ground, Tigress gave Crane a closer look. _He looks just like he did before the fight! The smug jerk! Not even one ruffled feather!_  
  
He looked at her for a few seconds, as if waiting to see if she would say more. "So," he finally started, "what are your thoughts about this fight?"  
  
"You want me to list everything I did wrong?" _Gah, I hate those parts. Naturally, Master Shifu loves them. And he always manages to add more items to the list, no matter how many I came up with._  
  
"I want to exchange views, Tigress. If this includes insights about something you should work on, that's fine, of course." He cocked his head as he finally began to realize how Master Shifu had handled such situations. "I want to get to know you better, so don't just tell me what you think I want to hear."  
  
"Okay, fine." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Where to start? I could go with what I practiced the most and tell him some tale about how much I suck, but... no. Let's see where this is going._ "You were holding back," she finally told him and opened her eyes again.  
  
He smiled softly. "Not as much as I would have liked." When she merely gave him a frown, he chuckled. "That's it? We fight non-stop for almost an hour, and _this_ is all you have to say afterwards?"  
  
"It's... I mean..." She gestured helplessly before letting out a loud sigh. "I never thought the difference between us would be so great."  
  
"It's not." Crane chuckled softly. "You started out with an injury and still forced me to go almost all out. With the exception of aerial combat, you're doing quite fine, trust me."  
  
"Yeah, but... but it almost felt as if you were... I dunno... as if you knew what I'd do before I did it." She smiled sheepishly. "I know this sounds silly, but a few times, you were practically predicting my moves..." She gave Crane a look, expecting him to laugh at her lame theory. Instead, the bird looked pale.  
  
"I... how'd... I mean..." He flapped his wings nervously then shook his head in disbelief. "I did?" Before Tigress could even figure out what had made him so nervous he cocked his head this way and that before cursing quietly. "No, no, you're right-... I deeply apologize."  
  
Tigress's jaw dropped. "Wait... you mean you _did_ predict my moves?" _This isn't something a Master should know. Someone at Master Shifu's level, sure, but not some young crane who just mastered his own style! He doesn't know Tiger style! ...or at least he_ shouldn't _know it!_  
  
Crane looked miserable. "Forgive me, Tigress. I thought I had managed to fight without using prior knowledge, but I guess old habits die hard..."  
  
"...what are you talking about? What does this mean?"  
  
"It means that your fierceness almost rivals that of Master Pahti." Crane covered his face with his right wing and muttered something to himself. "Let's head back," he suddenly told her and pointed at the courtyard.  
  
"That doesn't explain anything!" Tigress shouted as she followed him upstairs. "I may be as fierce as one of your crane Masters, but how does that let you predict my moves?"  
  
Crane stopped abruptly and gave her a wide-eyed look over his shoulder. "Crane?" Then he blinked... and laughed. "Oh, oh I see!" He shook his head ruefully. "I forgot you don't know the people at the Floating Temple." He turned around to face her, the courtyard just a few steps away. Tigress took a slow step back - Crane was looking slightly crazy all of a sudden. "Master Pahti isn't a crane. He's not even a bird."  
  
"But... didn't you say he taught you aerial combat? Like that first rule?"  
  
"He did! He did!" He was grinning like mad. "But Master Pahti is a white tiger. The only other crane at the Floating Temple had been Master Bai-He."  
  
Tigress blinked. "...what?" _He's pulling my leg. Gotta be. How does a bird learn aerial combat from a tiger?_  
  
"I know, it sounds crazy." He was looking through her now. "Oh, Master Pahti... I used to think he hated me. Y'know, because of how he treated me."  
  
 _Wonderful, I broke him. And now he associates me with some crazy teacher at his old temple._ Tigress took a deep breath. "But... he didn't right? You realized that this was his way of showing his appreciation for students, right? Like, tough love?"  
  
Crane idly clicked his beak. "No," he finally muttered. "He really did hate me. But I eventually realized that he hated everybody equally." He snickered, and then, as suddenly as he had dived into the madness, he snapped out of it and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Tigress. Master Pahti had been a fierce Master of the Tiger Style, and he challenged me daily. Over the years, I learned to anticipate several of his moves - it didn't actually allow me to break through his guard, but I at least didn't need to get medical attention after every session." He was looking disappointed in himself. "I thought I had been able to keep that knowledge out of _our_ sparring, but evidently, I didn't quite succeed."  
  
"You... can predict Tiger style," Tigress reduced it back to the basics after a moment of hesitation.  
  
"Not as much as you can, but enough to know the basic moves," he put things into perspective. "I mean, you're bound to pick up a few things when you fight against it every day for a few years, right?" He slowly turned around again and led her to the courtyard.  
  
"And this tiger taught you how to fight in mid-air?"  
  
Crane gestured vaguely for a few seconds. "No," he finally replied. "Master Bai-He taught me that as part of my style. But Master Pahti was the one who taught me his rules on how to avoid getting killed."  
  
"A tiger taught you the 'Let them fall if they don't respect aerial fights' rule?"  
  
Her temporary Master chuckled. "You won't let go of that unless I tell you details, huh?"  
  
"Well, it's roughly time for lunch, so we'll have a good opportunity to talk," Tigress replied and flashed him a grin.  
  
Fortunately, the servant staff had learned to predict Tigress's wishes whenever her Masters went away. Among the things they had learned was that Tigress valued a good lunch. Not over the top, but enough to make a predator with high energy consumption happy. Master Shifu kept telling her that she had to exercise discipline and to control her body to tap into her hidden reserves... or something; Tigress hadn't really paid attention to the metaphysical parts. _But these rules aren't meant to apply to vacations, right? Otherwise, Master Shifu would've given the staff special dietary instructions._ She of course suspected that the lack of such instructions was merely an oversight by her Master, but had decided not to jinx it.  
  
"Quite a feast," Crane commented when he looked over the plates and bowls that had been placed on the table.  
  
"Yeah, it's a special occasion," Tigress replied airily and started to load some meat and vegetables onto her plate.  
  
He took more time, looking at every offering and nodding appreciatively. "So much better than what we had at the Floating Temple," he whispered before realizing what she had said. "What special occasion?"  
  
"We're here and Master Shifu is not." She gave him another grin. "Dig in! Oh, and tell me more about your training."  
  
Crane groaned dramatically and placed some food on his plate. "I had originally started my training in another school, but they didn't have anybody to teach me more than the basics of my natural style. So I came to the Floating Temple with a long list of recommendations, and Master Bai-He immediately took me under his wing."  
  
 _How can he eat so much while he's talking? Look at his plate - it's almost empty already!_ Tigress scratched her head before she realized that Crane's long beak would let him take very large bites. _I'm going to starve at this rate!_ "So he taught you proper Crane style?" she idly asked even as she reached for the bowls again.  
  
"Fujian White Crane style, yes. And I believed that Master Bai-He had been proud of me. No, I had been convinced of it." He shook his head and sighed. "I had been proud. Far too proud. I had fully believed that I ruled the sky, second only to my Master." Tigress realized that she had worried for nothing - Crane had stopped eating... at least for the moment. "And then Master Pahti challenged me. Full-contact sparring in the large arena, no holding back." He sighed again and closed his eyes. "Only much later did I learn that Master Bai-He had asked him to challenge me."  
  
"And he beat you?" _No, it can't just be that simple. That wouldn't explain the lessons and all that._  
  
Crane was looking completely lost now, and Tigress wasn't even completely sure if he was still hearing her. "He was fast and strong. Within seconds, he had forced me to fall back all the way against a wall. I realized that I'd have to take the fight to the air. After all, that's my element. Up there, birds fly and cats fall, right?"  
  
"You demonstrated that much, yes." Tigress poked her food and frowned.  
  
"Well, I took off and rose until I was circling just under the ceiling. Truth to be told, I primarily did it to catch my breath and to taunt him a bit. You know, to break his spirit or something."  
  
"You didn't carry him up the way you carried me?" _Now that's hardly sporting!_  
  
He shook his head. "No. My plan had been to make a few fly-by attacks. Sure, he might've grabbed my leg during one, but you normally don't start out by doing what I did to you."  
  
 _So he was just giving me an advantage to see what I would do?_  
  
"I only noticed that something was wrong when I looked down to deliver my first taunt." Crane was fully lost in his flashback now. "He was gone. I looked down at the arena floor, and he wasn't there. And... and..." He took a deep breath, looking haunted. "And then he was on top of me."  
  
"What?" Tigress blinked. "What do you mean? You said you had been circling way up!"  
  
He briefly shook his head and focused on her again. "Indeed. But he had followed me." He suddenly took a large bite of the fish on his plate, as if only now remembering about lunch.  
  
"How can a tiger follow a crane into the sky? That's nonsense. Not even Master Shifu can fly. Sure, he can jump, but-"  
  
"Claws."  
  
"-...come again?"  
  
"He had climbed after me," Crane whispered. "The moment I had taken off, he had started to scale the arena wall all the way to the ceiling. Insane stunt, really. See, the arena roof had been a dome. So he must've climbed the last part upside down. And then he launched himself at me."  
  
Tigress gave him a long stare. "...damn," she finally muttered. "So he tackled you and let you fall to the ground from that height?"  
  
"What? Don't be ridiculous!" He laughed dryly. "Then I might've recovered in mid-air! No, he grabbed my wings and _steered_ me into the ground."  
  
Tigress couldn't help but cringe at the mental image. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Well, it hadn't been nice, but that's what happens when you follow the first rule of fighting in mid-air," Crane sighed and gave her a look.  
  
"Stay in control," she cited the rule obediently. "Make sure you don't fall or take care that your opponent falls with you."  
  
"See?" He was chipper again and gobbled down the rest of his food with a grin. "All it takes is one life-or-death situation, and people will remember stuff they couldn't memorize before!"  
  
"Very funny," she commented and smirked. "But only knowing the rule won't be enough to beat you, will it?"  
  
He gave her a look, possibly trying to determine if she was serious or not. "You really want to resume your training already?"  
  
"My schedule's free, and minor injuries aren't a reason to stop according to Master Shifu." She shrugged, and he mimicked her movements.  
  
"Yeah, that sounds a lot like my Master, too. Fine then. Are you done?" He pointed at her filled plate.  
  
"It'll still be edible in the afternoon. Right now, I'd like to know more about aerial combat." Tigress smiled widely. _About time I get to work on something Master Shifu thinks I'm hopeless in! I'll show him I can do it after all!_  
  
He sighed dramatically, but she knew he was just acting. "Who would've thought that I'd end up teaching a tiger how to drag cranes back to the ground? Master Pahti would be amused..."  



	7. Cheaters never prosper

"You what?" Tigress asked, just to be certain that she wasn't going to hospitalize her new Master based on a regrettable lack of communication.  
  
"I want you to hit me in the head," Crane repeated and smiled. When he saw her clenching her fist, the smile widened. "With your foot."  
  
 _Oh, joy. Because my feet totally aren't still aching from all the idiocy of the last day or anything..._ "No punches?"  
  
"Just kicks, yes."  
  
 _I really should have waited until after lunch. Why was I so eager? Did I think that I'd pick up the secret to beating him before dinner?_ "And let me guess, there's another catch, right? You won't be restricted while you fight back?"  
  
"Intriguing suggestion, but no." He hopped from one foot to the other. "In fact, I won't touch you at all."  
  
"You... won't be fighting back?" Tigress asked slowly, once again trying to make sure that she was understanding him correctly. _I should probably get this in writing._  
  
He chuckled, oblivious to the danger he was about to unleash upon himself. "Well, I will move and I will dodge. I will do whatever it takes to prevent you from hitting me except for flying at heights you can't reach. My goal is to make sure you get your feet off the ground. Consider it a first step on your way to mastering aerial combat."  
  
"So this is about my lack of jumping?"  
  
"It's about expanding your horizons," he corrected her patiently. "I want to disrupt your rote training patterns: most of your experience seems to be fighting on smooth ground against an opponent who would have to jump just to get to your eye level. Now, the arena is the entire Jade Palace, and your opponent is roughly the same size as you. Furthermore, the entire nature of the fight will be changed. It should be interesting to see you adapt."  
  
Tigress assumed her base stance. "We'll see about that." She willed her emotions to take a back seat and let her cool, calculating mind take over. _Quick, think. This challenge would be trivial if he wasn't allowed to move all over the place. My biggest enemy is his mobility. If he gets to use those wings, I'll be in a lot of trouble. So I just have to end this one quickly._ She frowned. _Yeah, because that worked so well the last time..._ Crane gave her a smile, seemingly reading her mind. _He has experience with my style. From my current stance, there are only so many different kicks I can pull off to end this within the first three seconds. He's prepared for those._ She narrowed her eyes. _So I'll have to think a bit further ahead. Still, as long as I don't allow him to make a run for it, this should be doable without exhausting me._  
  
"On the count of three," Crane announced and stretched his wings. "One..."  
  
Tigress exhaled. Her mind went through the possible starting options, finally opting for a rather unconventional (and uncharacteristically flashy) opening with a roundhouse kick, followed by a low leg sweep. _Tiger style without using my fists, what a twist._  
  
"Two..." Crane was still smiling.  
  
"Master Shifu!" one of the servant ducks suddenly exclaimed. "You are back earlier than I thought!"  
  
"What?" Tigress whispered and turned around to face the stairs leading to the Valley of Peace. _No! He can't be back! Not now! And... he isn't?_ She stared at the lone duck, who was looking extremely nervous and apologetic at the same time.  
  
"Three!" Crane suddenly snapped, making her blink.  
  
"But... isn't Master Shifu-" Her voice trailed off when she turned back to Crane, who was already several yards away, wings flapping wildly to get off the ground. _This... was a ruse. A lie. Master Shifu is nowhere near the Jade Palace._ Tigress gritted her teeth and took off with enough energy to leave claw marks in the stone ground. "YOU CHEATER!" she roared, dropping down to all fours to move even faster.  
  
Crane was in the air now, flying just a few feet above the ground to technically stay in range for her kicks. Even in her rage, Tigress couldn't help but appreciate just how much more elegantly he moved now, compared to the awkward and stilted way he moved on the ground. Of course, this was the absolute worst case for this fight: Crane was way out of her range, she hadn't even gotten close to landing a single hit on him yet, and he was now leading her on a wild goose chase. _Or a wild crane chase in this case._ She rolled her eyes at her own dumb pun.  
  
Her young Master made a nearly impossible turn to the left, tucking in his wings and spinning once around his length to squeeze between two pillars. Then he flew straight through the open doors of a storage building.  
  
 _Ha, you idiot,_ Tigress thought and smirked as she sprinted through the doors herself. Her eyes took only a moment to adjust to the relative darkness - fast enough to see Crane comically running on his long, thin legs while still flapping his wings. _Just about three more seconds..._ She was faster on the ground. _Two..._ There was no way a bird could escape her without being able to fly. _One..._  
  
Without interrupting his movements, Crane suddenly whirled around, grabbing a nearby chair and throwing it into her path.  
  
"Nice try!" Tigress snapped, easily jumping over the chair. "But if yoOOF!" Somehow, Crane had managed to drag a _table_ into her path. _Okay, those legs might look like twigs, but they're still strong enough to do that. Noted._ She gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to fling the table against the wall. Instead, she hopped onto it and from there resumed her chase, just in time to see Crane jumping out of a window. _Of course he'll do whatever it takes to get back out,_ she thought and hopped through the window herself feet-first, one hand on the windowsill. _Makes me wonder why he ever bothered going inside to beg-_ The hand on the windowsill dug its claws into the wood before Tigress's conscious mind could even interpret the giant NOTHING she was currently flying over. "Damn!" she wheezed when she hit the wall, still dangling from windowsill with one hand. She looked down and gulped. Below her lay the Valley of Peace. Far... far... below her. _He made me jump through a window overseeing the cliff side of the Jade Palace! Crane almost made me kill myself!_  
  
"Wow," the accused commented, lazily flapping his wings to hover next to her. "Not only did you completely fall for my cheap distraction, but now you literally leaped before you looked!" He put on a mockingly thoughtful face. "Maybe we should call it quits for the day. You are clearly not in any shape to resume this exercise..."  
  
 _He's right, of course. That distraction shouldn't have worked, and I should've realized where that window leads to. I've lived here long enough to have been in every building and to have looked through every window._ Tigress took a deep breath. _Of course, I'd rather eat my tail instead of admitting this._ She suddenly felt reminded of an old tale her Master once told her. A tale of a bunny and a duck. The bunny always came out on top of things despite rarely deserving it, and the duck was always the sore loser. Feeling a lot like said duck, she also remembered one of his lines from the story: "You're _despicable_."  
  
"Oh, I know..." Crane laughed softly, obviously pleased with himself. "But look on the bright side - at least you remembered this time that birds fly up while tigers fly down."  
  
"I would have been dead otherwise," Tigress reminded him and gave him a death glare. _And it had been a terrifyingly close call, but no need to mention that to your Master, even if it's obvious._  
  
Crane looked down for a long time. "Right now... probably, yeah," he finally admitted. "Oh, and I would've caught you, of course!"  
  
Tigress blinked at the first part. "Only right now? Are you saying that I could survive such a fall later on? Because I'm fairly certain you're wrong there."  
  
Somehow, Crane managed to shrug while flapping his wings. "This is probably the wrong time to discuss this."  
  
"Kinda, yeah," she admitted almost casually. "Maybe we can discuss this further after I kicked your beak off your face?"  
  
He smiled at that. "I somehow figured you'd want to keep going. I'll meet you in the courtyard." And with that, he flapped his wings faster and slowly flew upwards.  
  
"Smug jerk," Tigress hissed and pulled herself upwards and then through the open window. Once safely inside, she massaged the hand that had held her weight during that chat. She didn't need to, of course, but she told herself to do so anyway because it gave her brain a few moments of peace and quiet.  
  
After a minute alone in the storage room, Tigress finally admitted a bitter truth to herself: _This isn't going to work._ She sighed. _This should be easy, but I'm way too focused on quick success right now, and it's blinding me. In hindsight, there are a thousand ways I could have avoided all of this. And yet here we are._ Crane was probably waiting for her already, but she didn't move. "What would Master Shifu do?" she suddenly asked herself and blinked at the sound of her own voice. "Or rather, how would he lecture me?" She started pacing and tried to channel her Master's mindset.  
  
"Tigress!" she snapped with her best impression of Master Shifu's gruffy voice. "That was absolutely pathetic! You are distracted!" _Well yes, but tell me something I don't know!_ "This bird has you playing his game, and he is better at it than you are!" _Yes, but what can I do about it?_ "Improve, Tigress! Train! Practice!" She huffed angrily at herself, then smirked and shoved her mental Master Shifu aside. "Or you could be smart and simply stop playing his game..."  
  
"Oh good, you're here," Crane cheered when Tigress finally came out of the building. "I was starting to think that you had either fallen down or gotten lost in there!"  
  
"You wouldn't have had to wonder if you hadn't simply left me hanging, you know?" Tigress pretended to be annoyed, but behind her carefully composed mask, she was calculating possible routes, trying to predict where Crane would lead her next. Unlike last time, her thoughts weren't focused on techniques, openings or fighting stances. Instead, she was trying to mentally map out the buildings nearby, reconstructing them from memories accumulated over the years. _Stay calm, accept that there will be a chase, and work from there._  
  
"You're right, I apologize." Crane bowed theatrically. "As your Master, I should help my student as best as I can."  
  
 _Oh, har-dee-har. Help your student my fuzzy behind. If you think for one moment that I will hold back when I kick your dumb beak in, you are so absolutely-_ Tigress froze. _He's baiting you again! ...why is it working again?_ She did her best to cover up her realization - her plan was going to work a lot better if Crane assumed that he had the upper hand. _Or upper wing, I suppose._ "I swear, Crane, I will kick your sorry, feathery butt all the way down the stairs to the Valley of Peace, and I will smile while doing so!" she snapped, hoping that Crane hadn't noticed her moment of hesitation.  
  
"Taking every fifth step?" Crane asked calmly, and the reminder of the end of the last day almost made Tigress scream.  
  
 _How is he so good at antagonizing me? Did Master Shifu write down tips on one of those scrolls he left? Or is that something they taught him at the Floating Temple? Stupid bird-brain. See if your tactics work on me. Jerk._ "Oh, right! I almost forgot about that! You're so going down!"  
  
"Very well, I suppose we might as well get started. And no tricks this time to get a head start - it's probably better to spare you the embarrassment of falling for the same trick twice in a row."  
  
 _What? Embarrassment? How dare he imply that that trick would've worked again?_ A small part of her mind tried to remind her yet again not to fall for his antics, but it was brushed aside.  
  
"After all, I should go easy on you. Still no Master title, and you're, what, in your forties already?" He ignored the way her tail twitched. "Tsk, I'm starting to realize why your Master thinks you're a failure."  
  
Tigress's eyes had turned into thin, angry slits. _Go easy on me? A failure? IN MY FORTIES? He. Is. DEAD._  
  
"Ah well, I suppose we might as well get this farce over with." Crane lazily waved his right wing while yawning into the left one. "One, two, thr-"  
  
Tigress's roar caught him completely off-guard, and by the time he came down from his adrenaline spike, his instincts had made him jump backwards and assume his Crane style base stance. "Ah, heh, sorry about that." Tigress waved airily, "Got something stuck in my throat there..." She gave him a neutral smile. "Please, carry on." _O...kay... lessons learned all around: One, I need to find a less over-the-top way to quickly balance out my emotions. Two, Crane learned not to push me too far with his pre-fight taunts._  
  
Crane coughed quietly and brushed over the outside of each wing, as if too smoothen his feathers. "Should've seen that one coming," he muttered. "Cats are all the same - step on their tails and they make noise."  
  
 _Wow, I must've rattled him,Tigress_ thought when she realized that Crane was still caught up in his own world. "You... were counting?" she gently reminded him, but he didn't seem to hear her.  
  
"Same with Master Pahti, right?"  
  
"Crane?"  
  
"I notice a flaw in his execution and point it out, like, once in goodness knows how many years. Just once!"  
  
"...Master Crane?"  
  
"And boom! Guy chews me out. Loudly! In front of everybody!" He glared at her, as if daring her to defend his crazy mentor. "And you know for how many days?"  
  
 _Okay, just play along,_ Tigress told herself, trying not to look too freaked out. _He'll calm down soon enough, you can give him a hug, tell him that everything will be fine, and then you'll take it easy for the rest of the day._ "For how many days, Master Crane?"  
  
Crane gave her a long look. Took a deep breath. Flapped his wings. Tapped his foot. Finally, he answered her: "Three." And with that, he spun on his right foot and started running before using his wings and momentum to take off.  
  
 _...what?_ Tigress just blinked at the bird's completely erratic behavior. _Did he just lose his mind? Being berated for three days probably is bad, but what's with the sudden rush? Is he maybe mistaking me for his Master in some sort of hallucination?_ She sighed. _Typical. I come up with this great plan, but we end up egging each other on, and now he apparently snapped and is on the run. And I probably can't even put my foot to his crazy head because he couldn't even count to-_ She froze. "-three?" Her eyes widened. _No. NO. He did NOT just do that._ Her claws sprung free when she realized that somehow, she had fallen for an elaborate ruse. Again. "CRAAAANE!" she roared, sprinting after him on all fours. Again. "YOU STUPID, CHEATING BIRD!"  
  
His laughter confirmed her worst fears. "You should've seen your face!" he taunted her, even though Tigress was rapidly gaining on him.  
  
"I can see why your Master hired another Master just to smack you down!" she shouted. "Because you're insufferable!"  
  
"I get that a lot," Crane shouted over his shoulder before gracefully rolling into a sharp turn to the right. "I'm beginning to think that my natural charm is a bit of an acquired taste."  
  
Despite everything that had happened, Tigress couldn't help but smile. In his own, stupid way, Crane was a pretty great and funny guy. _Is this what it's like to have a fellow student?_  
  
Then her smile widened - Crane was flying towards a building again.  
  
Her internal map of the Jade Palace told her that this building had no windows overseeing - probably - several thousand feet of absolutely freaking nothing. Still, she was certain that her young Master would try to trick her again in some other way. _But that is okay,_ she thought. _In fact, I'm banking on it._  
  
Tigress tried to steady her breathing. Considering that she was chasing after somebody at full speed, this was easier said than done, but one did not study under one of the greatest Masters in China without picking up a few pointers. She slowed down a little bit, trading in a fraction of her speed for the ability to take longer, slower breaths.  
  
Crane zoomed through the door at reckless speed, Tigress not too far behind him. She wasn't entirely sure what he was up to this time, but she was able to pull the layout of the building from her memory. _And that should make all the difference._  
  
When she came in through the entrance, Tigress was just able to catch a last glimpse of Crane's wing before he disappeared into a corridor. The impulse to chase after him was almost overwhelming, but she managed to hold on to her plan.  
  
Silently, she hopped onto a dresser, from there onto a closet, lifted one of the lightweight ceiling boards and finally climbed into the rafters. Within two seconds, Tigress had gone from the entrance to the darkness nine feet above the floor. Ages ago, somewhere between learning how to utilize her feline agility and fully setting off on the path to becoming a Master, spaces like this had been her playground - a hidden world of fun and adventure all for herself. Now, Tigress moved through the rafters without making a sound, slowly working her way towards where Crane had apparently run off to.  
  
It didn't take her long to find her Master, even with the ceiling boards blocking her view. In the otherwise quiet building, the sound of Crane's heavy breathing was easily detectable. _In fact, it almost sounds too loud,_ Tigress noticed and cocked her head. _Probably because it is - I guess he is being noisy on purpose to make me come after him._ She was almost right on top of the sound now. _Okay, if I get this wrong, I'll have to call it quits - this will be impossible to do again without the element of surprise._ Straining to hear any change in Crane's behavior, Tigress dropped into a crouch and carefully lifted a ceiling board.  
  
 _What is he doing?_ she asked herself after a brief glance down. Crane was there alright, but he was waiting for her in a windowless storage room that was dimly lit by a single lantern. _He is trapped,_ she observed. It was only then that she noticed the thin wire stretched in the doorframe, about a foot from the ground. _Oh, you jerk._ It didn't take much imagination to figure out where this would have gone: _I see him standing there, rush in without looking, stumble, fall, curse a lot... and then he'd either jump over me to lead me to his next trap or just start throwing boxes onto me._ But then she smiled - after all, none of that was actually going to happen.  
  
Crane, meanwhile, had stopped his exaggerated panting and was instead cocking his head. "Where is she?" the bird asked no-one in particular. "HA, YOU FINALLY GAVE UP?" he shouted, then immediately listened for footsteps. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Drat, there is no way I lost her this easily. She probably decided that this is a stupid waste of time. Either that, or she got distracted by something shiny. Cats. All the same."  
  
 _That's it, he's going down,_ Tigress decided, trying not to snarl. _I mean, he was going to go down anyway, but now I'm not even going to be gentle._  
  
"No, it's probably the first one," Crane suddenly decided. "This was stupid. She doesn't have to chase around a dumb bird like me. She's the one who has been training under one if the greatest Masters in China, not me! What was I thinking?"  
  
 _Okay, did not see this one coming._ Tigress raised an eyebrow. _The great Master Crane has a bad case of doubt? And this time not because Master Shifu was mean to him?_  
  
"This is Mei Ling all over again! When will you learn, Crane? Just because a beautiful girl acts friendly around you doesn't mean she'll ever be in your league. There is confidence, and then there is this! You can barely impress her, and you can't train her any better than a living legend of Kung Fu can!"  
  
Tigress was incredibly confused at this point; all this talk about beautiful girls she didn't know - _And did he just indirectly call me beautiful, too?_ \- was way outside her area of expertise. This was something she wasn't familiar with - she had only ever known simple problems with straightforward solutions (mostly involving punching and kicking). _This is way too... complicated and wing-wavy for me. Just give me an opening that I can work with!_  
  
"I mean," Crane muttered without realizing that he was about to set more than a hundred pounds of bone and muscle into motion, "what did I even manage to teach her so far?"  
  
Tigress knew she was making a mistake even as she was dropping through the hole. "You taught me how to cheat," she whispered, the floorboards creaking a little bit under her weight as she landed.  
  
Everything went quickly from there: Crane instinctively dropped into a crouch even while his head swung around just enough to verify that somebody had sneaked up on him. At the same time, Tigress's foot was well on its way to connect... with the thin air just above his hat. _Drat, not even a moment of hesitation! That would've connected perfectly if he hadn't ducked!_ The urge to follow up that roundhouse kick with a second one was strong, but Tigress reminded herself that Crane's goal was not to fight, but simply to avoid her. _He's going to run; he'll be long gone by the time you finish that second kick._  
  
While Tigress had been right about his intentions, it turned out that she had worried too much: Crane turned on one foot and, using his wings for an additional boost, scrambled towards the door... where he promptly forgot about the tripwire he had installed there minutes earlier. Letting out a confused squawk, the bird tripped, stumbled and crashed into the wall opposite the door before hitting the floor with a quiet curse.  
  
 _Ha, that's what you get for cheating!_ Tigress grinned victoriously and hopped over the wire, landing neatly next to Crane, who was trying to get back onto his feet. She gently nudged his head with her foot and leaned against the wall, doing her best to look nonchalant without coming across as smug. "Tag, you're it."  
  
Crane huffed and got up. Then he finally took a look at the hole in the ceiling from where she had descended, but Tigress could tell that his mind was elsewhere. "Not quite what I had in mind, but I suppose you did get your feet off the ground and adapted to more flexible fighting conditions. Well done."  
  
"Thank you, Master Crane." Tigress bowed and offered him the traditional salute.  
  
It took Crane long moments to react, but he eventually returned it, allowing Tigress to stand straight again. "So... uhhh... you obviously... overheard me there," he finally began, and even if Tigress hadn't anticipated this, the way Crane was uncomfortably shifting his weight from one foot to another would have clued her in. "What.. I mean... how much did you-"  
  
"I just heard the part about what you had managed to teach me so far," she lied. "I had just arrived and immediately struck." _Good. Very good. Lying isn't your strong suit, but that actually sounded plausible._  
  
Crane let out an obvious, relieved sigh, and Tigress noted that she apparently wasn't the only one who had trouble with concealing or distorting the truth. "Great! I mean... that's... good. Good." He adjusted his wings a bit and nodded. "Well then, let's see what... let's see what we'll do next."  
  
He turned around to lead the way, and Tigress dropped her guard, happy that the situation had resolved itself neatly.  
  
It was her second mistake in as many minutes.  
  
"So who's Mei Ling?" she heard herself ask, and the words were out long before her brain could react.  
  
Crane whirled around, and going by his shocked and hurt expression, Tigress knew she had screwed up big time. "How did you-" he started to ask before figuring out the obvious answer. And then he realized what else she must have heard. Flapping his giant wings in agitation and embarrassment, he tried multiple times to formulate a coherent reply; each time he failed, his state seemed to get worse.  
  
 _Do something! Say something!_ "Crane, I-"  
  
"No."  
  
Tigress blinked at the wing Crane held up in front of her face. "But-"  
  
"We're done here."  
  
 _Stupid, Tigress!_ She knew that deceptively calm tone. Master Shifu had used it very rarely, and only when Tigress had done something very, very bad. "Wait, please let me-" Tigress watched as Crane turned around.  
  
"Idiot!" he hissed, and Tigress wasn't sure if he was talking to her or to himself.  
  
With less than three feet between them, it would have been trivial for her to grab him by his wing, but she strongly suspected that pushing things into physical territory would only make matters even worse. "Crane, wait, I-" She weakly held out a hand, trying to find the magic words that would make him stay, make him listen. _Listen to what? You heard something you shouldn't have heard, and then you lied to him about it._ He broke into a run that quickly turned into a half-sprint, half-flight. _He thinks you're a no-good jerk._ Somewhere, she heard furniture being tossed aside as Crane had stopped caring about property damage on his way out. _And let's face it - he's right._  
  
"I..." Tigress weakly dropped to her knees, unable and unwilling to process the full impact what had just happened. She had no idea if Crane was just venting or if he was so angry that he was leaving for good. She wasn't even sure which reaction she was hoping for. _Latter would be better,_ her horrible, self-critical inner voice quipped. _You can barely stand Master Shifu chewing you out - how could you live with a guy who apparently actually_ liked _you telling you just what a screw-up you are and how you made him look like a fool?_  
  
Tigress had no answers, no way of rebutting her inner voice. She merely closed her eyes when she finally found the words that may have saved the day: "I'm sorry."  



	8. Neither do bullies, probably

The first day after his dramatic departure from the Jade Palace had been easy. A simple exercise in self delusion: Crane had left to vent, had found a tavern, had gotten smashed, and was on the way back, due to arrive any minute now.  
  
The second day had been much, much harder: Crane had left for good, Master Shifu was going to pin the blame on her, and he would be right.  
  
Today, on day three, the name of the game was paranoia: Crane was probably in the next country by now, and any sound outside was caused by Master Shifu, obviously preparing to banish her in some humiliating and maybe painful way. She had even had the foresight to pack her few belongings into a small bag, and the servants had been instructed to smuggle it out if Master Shifu didn't give her time to get it.  
  
The moment of truth arrived during lunch.  
  
The kitchen staff had prepared a somewhat fancy and rather sweet meal in the hopes of cheering her up a little bit, but she couldn't really enjoy it, what with the whole banishment business and all that.  
  
The door behind her slid open noisily, and Tigress closed her eyes. The servants never made any noise with the doors, so this just left her severely aggravated Master. _Or a robber. That'd actually be preferable._ When nobody stabbed her or tried to shove her to the ground, she sighed. _Was worth a shot._  
  
The person behind her didn't speak, and Tigress knew that she was supposed to turn around. After taking her last deep breath as a student of the Jade Palace, she looked over her shoulder. "Yes, it's my fault that he's-" She froze when she found herself looking not into Master Shifu's eyes, but rather at two spindly legs. "-Crane!?"  
  
"Well, I'm pretty sure it's my parents fault that I'm Crane," the bird mused calmly, and Tigress finally looked up. "Regarding the name, they probably conspired with the parents of a tigress named Tigress." When she just opened and closed her mouth in disbelief, he gave her a weak smile. "Hey."  
  
"...hey," Tigress finally managed to reply and had to laugh at the banality of it.  
  
Crane shifted his weight and looked past her. "You mind if I help myself to a quick bite? I didn't have anything to eat today." He paused. "...at least I think so. How long have I been gone?"  
  
 _Well, sounds like I wasn't the only one who was adrift for a while there._ "You have been gone for three nights," she informed him, then frowned. "How little sleep did you get in order to lose track of the time so badly?"  
  
"Hrm," he just replied and reached past her with one leg to pick up a dumpling. Then he stopped right before putting it into his mouth. "Actually, no. Wait." He put it back down. "Let me apologize first. Then I can eat while you chew me out."  
  
Tigress gave him a long stare. "Apologize? You?"  
  
He stared back. "...yes? Absolutely?" He took off his hat - his head looked small without it somehow - and took a deep breath. "Tigress, I would like to apologize for letting my emotions get in the way of your training. A Master is not supposed to walk out on his student, much less throw some idiotic hissy fit. I have never had students of my own - I just got my title recently - and it shows. I lack the... the wisdom and the patience of a true Master." He bowed deeply. "I will leave it up to you if you want to continue training under such a rookie teacher or if you want to stick to the tried and true methods of your real Master."  
  
 _I... wow. He almost took this worse than I did. And he's not exactly wrong, but... I'm wronger. I mean, I'm worse. But he's in a bad place now, emotionally. Master Shifu already chewed him out before he left, and now here we are, apparently with proof that he had been right all along. I need to handle this with all the tact that I got._ She picked up his dumpling and casually tossed it in his general direction. "Catch."  
  
"Wha-" Crane, in his apparently sleep-deprived state, almost dropped it and had to snap it up with his beak just before it hit the ground.  
  
"Food's getting cold, you blabbering idiot," she muttered, hoping that he'd notice her slight smile. "Also, I hope you at least wiped your feet before you touched my food." Chewing slowly, it was now Crane's turn to give her a look of disbelief. "Oh, just sit down." He did as he was told - it was a weird sight, given that what she thought of as knees bent the wrong way - and when he carefully reached for another dumpling with his wing, she waved impatiently. "Yes, yes, yes." A sigh. "Look, I appreciate that you apologized, but we both know that I'm the one who caused this mess in the first place. I spied on you, I lied about it, and then I let it slip in a way that probably looked as if I wanted to rub it in. I'm... I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable like that. I'm sorry for apparently making you doubt yourself and your methods. If you want to inform Master Shifu that my people skills are complete garbage and that I caused you grief, I will accept it without protest." _Not that that'd be news to him..._  
  
For long seconds, neither of them spoke. Finally, Crane took a deep breath, and Tigress braced herself for the worst. "Tigress..." He sighed and shook his head. "These dumplings are _terrible_." The bird smiled when Tigress broke out into an utterly confused laugh. "I mean, really, did you tell the staff to make them extra-sweet?"  
  
 _He's not mad! He's not mad!_ The revelation made her feel giddy. _We both apologized, and things can go back to normal now, maybe?_ "I'm afraid the staff tried to cheer me up with sweets, but I actually kinda like them, so you can leave the rest-" She waved at the bowl of dumplings and froze when she realized that it was now just a bowl, period. "YOU STILL ATE THEM? ALL OF THEM?" _When? How? ...gah, I forgot about that giant beak again!_  
  
"I was hungry! I suffered through the entire bowl!" He was grinning widely, even while pretending to be a poor, tortured soul.  
  
"You jerk!" She playfully punched his shoulder, and the two engaged in a brief slap fight.  
  
"So, we're... good?" Crane carefully asked when both of them were panting lightly from the sudden workout.  
  
Tigress smiled. "I think so, yes," she finally answered. "We both could've handled this one better, and I think we both learned from it."  
  
"And we'd both be dead if Master Shifu ever learned about this," Crane added and reached for another bowl of food.  
  
Tigress forced herself not to react as she watched the entire content disappearing in his beak. _He's hungry, and you just settled on being friends again. It would be bad manners to openly fight over the food._ Still, she reached for a bowl herself - now that her anxiety was gone, her appetite was returning. "Yes, it'd be best if we didn't mention this to him," she agreed.  
  
"Mh." He chewed, nodded and swallowed. "I suppose I still owe you an answer, though." When he noticed her confused look, he shrugged. "Mei Ling?"  
  
Tigress immediately tensed up. She had spent quite a bit of the last few days thinking about this name. "It's fine," she cut him off, "you don't have to say it. The wound is probably too fresh and too painful."  
  
Crane gave her an odd look. "It... wasn't _that_ bad...? And it's not exactly what I'd call a fresh wound, either."  
  
"It's... not?" She blinked. "I... I figured that you-" _Loved?_ "-liked her a lot, but didn't dare to ask her out, and that she then died in the avalanche?"  
  
There was the subtlest twitch underneath his feathers when Tigress mentioned the avalanche that had destroyed his old school, and she made a mental note not to throw that word around so carelessly anymore. "I indeed liked Mei Ling. A lot, yes. And you're right that I never dared to ask her out. It wouldn't have worked out, really. She had skill, she had class, she had admirers, and I... was pretty much the opposite of that. Sure, we were good friends, but I was reasonably certain that I would have pushed her away if I had tried to turn it into more than that. And then..." He sighed, and Tigress cringed.  
  
"I'm sorry, Crane, I never should have brought this up. You don't have to-"  
  
"...I changed schools."  
  
"-finish this if it's too-" Tigress froze. "You what?"  
  
Crane chuckled quietly. "I told you that I changed schools. You know, when I ranted about my Master and how he was horrible and all that." He waved his wing. "Mei Ling had been an advanced student at that first school. She's the one who helped me get started with Kung Fu, which is maybe why I never felt good enough for her. There were worlds between us, and not just in terms of skill. It was a crush that didn't work out. Maybe with more time, maybe if I hadn't changed schools, maybe, maybe, maybe."  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered and, following an instinct, held out her hand.  
  
"It's fine," Crane muttered and reached out with his wing... to drop a half-filled bowl in her hand.  
  
Tigress was torn between laughing and clubbing Crane to death with the bowl. In the end, she settled for a dramatic gasp. "For me? Oh, you shouldn't have..."  
  
Crane gave her a grin. "I didn't come here to have you feel sorry for me. I've done plenty of that already."  
  
"Yeah, you just came here to eat all my food."  
  
"Exactly!" Crane nodded eagerly.  
  
"And maybe to teach me how to properly snag annoying birds out of the air."  
  
"Oh, right, that whole Kung Fu thing." He waved his wing dismissively. "Sure, whatever."  
  
"Couldn't have wished for a more passionate Master," she snarked, and he grinned again.  
  
Of course, there were things that still needed to be addressed. Important things. Crucial things. Things where Crane apparently thought that Tigress was... beautiful? _How do you even talk about something like that? Hey, Crane, I heard you find me beautiful, please tell me more? Yeah, no. Last time I tried to chat about personal issues without a proper plan, I made him flip over tables and leave for several days._ She looked into his eyes... and found him looking at her. Both quickly averted their eyes.  
  
"So," they said simultaneously and laughed sheepishly.  
  
"You go first," Tigress quickly told him before the situation could become any more awkward.  
  
"Well." He stood up and put on his hat. "I'm not sure how disappointed you're going to be, but I'd suggest that we both get an extra dose of sleep today. Maybe a little bit of light training or meditation, and then a good twelve hours of sleep. I slept very little while I was out and about, and you don't exactly look well-rested, either." He paused. "No offense."  
  
"I... could probably use some sleep, yes," she admitted. _Anything to give me more time to figure out if or how I should broach that subject._  
  
They decided to call it a day less than three hours later, having passed the early afternoon mostly with exercises that would normally count as mild warm-up. Neither of them spoke much during that time; Tigress knew the reason for her own silence, but she was less sure if her Master avoided longer exchanges for a similar reason.  
  
It felt weird to lie on her thin mattress while the sun was still up, but she knew she'd be fast asleep soon- Crane had been absolutely right in that she hadn't had a good night's rest since he had left. Still, she felt the desire to say something, anything. Going by the sounds coming from Crane's room, the bird wasn't fully at peace yet himself. "Hey," she finally said loud enough for him to hear through the thin walls.  
  
Crane apparently froze, or at least the sounds stopped. "...hey," he finally answered, sounding cautious.  
  
"I... I just wanted to say thanks," she said, praying that her conversational skills wouldn't fail her again. "For coming back, I mean."  
  
He chuckled quietly and seemed to relax. "You're welcome. I guess Master Shifu would've been mad about you causing your poor, traumatized replacement Master to exile himself into the hostile wilderness."  
  
Tigress let out a short laugh. "My poor, traumatized Master cheated and then tried to make me run into a tripwire - I think Master Shifu would have understood," she lied. "But no, I'm thankful because-" _I like you?_ "-I like having you around. You're a fun guy, and you were right that I'm actually enjoying my training again now that my closest comparison in terms of skill isn't infinitely far away." She waited for him to answer, but he was silent. "You're a good teacher, Crane. Much better than you give yourself credit for. If anything, I'm the problem here." She sighed quietly. "I'm stubborn. I'm arrogant. I'm impulsive. I'm... I'm not good with people. Never really learned it, I suppose. I got Kung Fu, and I cling to it. I want to become a Master so badly because... because I don't know what else to want. Does that make sense? No, don't answer that. It probably doesn't. But... I haven't really been thinking all that much about the title during the last couple of days. Maybe I've just needed someone like you. Or... just you. As a friend. Maybe more? I don't even know, this is uncharted territory for me." She smacked her forehead with one hand and dragged it down over her face, groaning in frustration. "I'm rambling, I'm sorry. You must think I'm crazy, right?" A few seconds passed. "Right? ...Crane?" She got up and held her breath. Crane was breathing softly... Breathing in, breathing out. In, out. A nice, slow, even rhythm. The rhythm of somebody who had fallen asleep minutes ago. Tigress smiled ruefully and lay back down. "Goodnight, Crane."  
  
Their plan to catch up on sleep _almost_ worked. Having picked up on a quiet whine and a sudden pop, Tigress's brain was still considering whether or not to check it out when her door was yanked open with enough force to make it jump off its rail. "WAKE UP!"  
  
She was on her feet and in a defensive stance before the door hit the floor. "Wha-"  
  
"COME ON!"  
  
Tigress blinked. _What just happened?_ She heard the scratching sounds of talons on wood. _Crane? What's going on?_ She shook her head and got dressed in seconds. The she sprinted along the corridor and jumped dow the stairs. Moments later, she was outside. "Crane!"  
  
The bird was frantically searching the night sky. "Where'd it come from? Why was nobody on guard? This is insanity!"  
  
 _What?_ Tigress squinted at her Master. _Is this some sort of prank? No, probably not, he looks legitimately spooked._ "Crane?" she asked softly. "Please, what are you talking about?"  
  
He shot her an angry glare, and Tigress actually took a step backwards. "What am I talking about?" He flapped his wings in agitation and leaned forward menacingly. "What am I _talking about_?"  
  
 _Okay, wow, he's losing it. Or maybe he already lost it. Either way, he's in a very bad place right now._ "Crane, please, could you just-"  
  
"THE ALARM!" Crane roared, making her back off further. "Are you such a spoiled rookie _brat_ that you literally slept through the alarm fireworks? REALLY?" He angrily jabbed a wing against her chest, making her stumble. "And you dream of becoming a Master with this kind of attitude?"  
  
He kept on ranting, but Tigress was barely listening to him anymore - something was bothering her. Well, a lot was bothering her, but one thing in particular stood out: "Alarm _fireworks_?" Crane raised one wing menacingly, and for a moment, Tigress was convinced that he was going to slap her. But then he froze as her question was being processed by his brain, giving Tigress a chance to take a closer look at the bird's face. _Yeah, he's gone. They probably used fireworks as alarm signals back at the Floating Temple, and now he's, what, having some sort of flashback? Trauma?_ Tigress had little knowledge of psychology, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that a catastrophic event like losing the entire school in an avalanche had left a few scars.  
  
Crane blinked, as if he was only now realizing who he was talking to. "Yes... of course. The alarm fireworks. Why don't... you..." He slowly lowered his wing as his brain dragged his consciousness back into the here and now. "You... you don't use fireworks for the alarm, do you?"  
  
 _Okay, easy now..._ She gently reached out with one hand and put it on his wing. It was trembling. "The Valley of Peace and the surrounding villages use gongs to signal for help."  
  
"But what about-"  
  
"The village is preparing for a festival tomorrow. The fireworks were probably set off by some over-eager kids."  
  
"Ah." Crane shifted his weight to the other foot. His wings twitched. "So there was no reason for me to-" His beak clicked shut as he reviewed what he had said and done during the last couple of minutes. "Great, that's just..." He was obviously struggling to hold back stronger language. "I'm sorry, I need to-"  
  
Tigress closed the distance and pulled him into a tight hug before he could take off. "It's fine," she whispered and closed her eyes. "Don't go."  
  
"But-" She felt him trying to spread his wings, but there was no strength behind the gesture. "But-" He let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry," he finally whispered back.  
  
"Don't worry about it," she told him. "We both said things during the last few days we regretted, and you still have a better excuse than I did."  
  
"I suppose." It took him a few minutes to calm down. Finally, he chuckled. "Now... are you still hugging me because you're afraid I'll fly off again?"  
  
Tigress's eyes flew open as she realized she still had her arms wrapped around him. _Say yes. No, wait, say no. Say something heartfelt! ...right, like what? Ugh. Okay, fine, do what you do best._ "We both know you'd do it just spite me."  
  
"Oh, I'm sure Master Shifu wouldn't mind if I left as long as it wasn't your fault. After all... how did you put it again...? Oh, right, I cheated and then tried to make you run into a tripwire. I'm such a villain."  
  
Tigress let go of him, if just to playfully slap his wing. "Very funny."  
  
As it turned out, not hugging did not make the situation less awkward. "So," Crane said, one of his talons idly scratching the ground.  
  
"So," Tigress echoed and gave him a look. Her Master was smiling, but she could tell that it was just a mask.  
  
"We... should probably go back to bed." Crane accompanied the suggestion with a lame gesture to point at the house, as if he feared that she might have forgotten where she had slept for the majority of her life.  
  
"Right," Tigress agreed, but held out her arm to stop Crane from moving past her. "But first, I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you are going to get any sleep."  
  
She could see him tensing up, and for a split-second, he shot her an angry glare out of the corner of his eye. But then he composed himself, carefully putting on a neutral mask. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. "Of course I-" His wing twitched visibly. After a long second of silence, he looked down. "At least you should get some sleep," he finally muttered.  
  
"You're right, I'll surely get a good night's sleep, knowing that you'll spend the entire time tossing and turning as you live through your worst-"  
  
"FINE," Crane snapped, only to immediately look around guiltily. "Sorry, sorry..." He sighed. "So what do you suggest?"  
  
"C'mon!" Tigress smiled and led the way towards one of the larger buildings.  
  
"At this point, I feel that I should've seen this one coming," Crane commented drily when they arrived in the kitchen. "Food seems to your answer to everything."  
  
"Considering that you keep eating my food, you're in no position to complain," Tigress answered and wagged her finger. "Besides, I got an active metabolism, I can't help it." The stove hadn't been used in a few hours, but Tigress had little trouble getting a small fire going.  
  
Crane tilted his head as he watched her pour water into a kettle. "We're making... tea?"  
  
"Well, right now, I'm making tea," she corrected him and smirked. "You're just watching."  
  
"Fine," he conceded. "Do you need a hand?"  
  
Tigress opened her mouth, then paused. "...you don't have hands."  
  
"Well, I can't help you, I don't have-..." He cocked his head as his brain finally processed her answer, then he laughed. "You're good! I honestly thought I'd be able to make that joke at least once. You'd be surprised how often people fell for this back at..." He looked down.  
  
 _At the Floating Temple. Poor Crane._ Tigress sighed quietly. _At this rate, he'll have left before the water is boiling._ "Do you know why I'm making tea?"  
  
"You want to have an excuse to eat?" He shifted uncomfortably under her scowl. "You intend to mix some knock-out drug into the tea because I'm clearly not well and you're worried about me doing something stupid while you're asleep?"  
  
Tigress's eyes widened at that. _Either the Floating Temple had harsher methods than I thought, or Crane has a really low opinion of me._ "Sorry, I don't do poison, but I could drive your dumb beak through a wall to knock you out," she offered.  
  
"I think I'll pass, thanks." He rolled his eyes. "So why _are_ you making tea?"  
  
"Well, I was thinking of tea and cookies in the fancy sitting room so we can... talk?" Crane was staring openly, and Tigress wasn't sure if it was because of the suggestion or because he had not expected her to use words like "tea and cookies" or "fancy" without irony.  
  
"It feels weird to be the one asking this, but... are you feeling well?" he finally asked, and she wasn't sure if he was actually concerned or if he was mocking her.  
  
"I'm serious, Crane," she informed him curtly.  
  
"You... want to... talk? At goodness knows when in the middle of the night?"  
  
"Well, it's not like either of us will be sleeping well for the next hour or two," she muttered. _This was a stupid idea. Just call it quits and tell him that you were kidding. Make up something about a combat challenge. That'll be stupid, but less stupid than fancy tea time. I mean, really, did you-_ She roughly shoved her self-doubt out of the way. "We can talk about the Floating-"  
  
Crane turned to leave.  
  
 _Stupid, Tigress!_ "Crane!" _Stupid, stupid, Tigress!_  
  
"WHAT!?" he screamed, giving her an enraged look over his shoulder. Tigress stumbled backwards, her hand barely missing the hot stove top. "FLOATING TEMPLE THIS, FLOATING TEMPLE THAT! YOU WANNA KNOW ABOUT THE FLOATING TEMPLE SO BADLY?" He leaped over to her with one flap of his giant wings and stood in front of her at full height, glaring down at her.  
  
Tigress leaned backwards, and she felt herself sliding into an awkward crouch to put at least a few inches of distance between them. _Yeah, I definitely pushed too far, too quickly. But really, he can't keep this bottled up forever._ "Crane, I'm sorry-"  
  
"IT'S GONE!" he roared, and only now could she see the tears running down his cheeks. "AN AVALANCHE TOOK IT! SEVERAL OF MY FRIENDS DIED!" The bird was gasping for breath and cursed under his breath. "They're dead. My school is gone, people I knew are now gone, and I'm alone." He roughly wiped over his face with one wing. "There. End of story. Good talk."  
  
He turned around again and headed for the door, leaving Tigress with a horrible sense of déjà vu. _He's leaving. Again. Because I screwed up. Again._ She gritted her teeth. _I believe I did the right thing, but he's... he's lost in his own world._ She got up and hurried after him. _This is going to be the dumbest or smartest thing ever - so let's see whether I'm right or horribly wrong._ "Crane, please stay," she said and put her hand on his shoulder just as he was about to leave the kitchen.  
  
She knew what was coming even before she felt the sudden shift of his muscles. "LEAVE-" Crane snapped even as he whirled around, his outstretched wing slamming straight... into Tigress's palm. Before he could process what had happened, she tightened her grip and twisted the wing upwards behind his back, forcing him to bend over.  
  
"Anger is the biggest enemy of a warrior," Tigress recited one of the earliest lessons Master Shifu had taught her.  
  
The struggle was short and extremely one-sided: Crane was a Kung Fu Master, but he was acting mostly on emotions at the moment, and Tigress was not exactly a novice when it came to close-range brawling on firm ground. "Okay, fine, I give up!" he finally conceded, and she let go.  
  
"Will you stay?"  
  
He gave her a dark look, but then sighed. "Fine, I'll stay. At least until I calmed down enough to not lose a stupid fight against you."  
  
 _Oh, thank goodness!_ "That's good enough for me." She smiled. _If he calms down that far, he won't try to leave in a fit of rage, anyway. Probably._  
  
Crane rolled his eyes. "Ugh, this is like my first year all over again."  
  
"What is?" Tigress asked as she slowly moved towards the stove again, keeping an eye on Crane in case that he decided to make a dash for it. The water was almost boiling, and she fetched a large tea pot.  
  
"Bullying by jerks," Crane replied, but she could tell that he was trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Picking on rookies? That's low." She put tea leaves in the pot and poured some hot water over them. Master Shifu hadn't really focused on teaching her the finer details of a proper tea ceremony, but she had picked up a few pointers here and there. She emptied the pot again, leaving only the wet leaves inside, and then filled the pot with the rest of the hot water.  
  
"I hadn't been a rookie," Crane muttered and came over to smell the tea.  
  
"Oh, right, I forgot, you had been slightly advanced when you got there."  
  
He gave her a look and smirked. "No, I meant my first school, the Lee Da Academy. First year there, I hadn't been a rookie."  
  
"Did you-"  
  
"I had been a janitor."  
  
 _A janitor?_ Tigress gawked. "Did you maybe hit your head when we were scuffling...?" _Giving your temporary Master brain damage would probably make Master Shifu mad, no matter how much he dislikes the bird._  
  
He laughed quietly. "I'm not delirious, I assure you. I just got into Kung Fu in a weird way."  
  
"As... a janitor."  
  
"As a janitor," he confirmed.  
  
She frowned lightly. "At the risk of making you mad again, I feel like pointing out-"  
  
"Yes, yes, I know." Crane waved his wing impatiently. "I'm not doing this to avoid talking about the Floating Temple. I just figure that, if we got a few hours to kill, I might as well start at the beginning."  
  
"Very well, but if I figure you're stalling-"  
  
"-you'll beat me up again, yes." He rolled his eyes and smirked. "Bully."  
  
"Cheater," she replied and stuck out her tongue.  
  
"Just tell me where to find those cookies." He dramatically covered his face with one of his wings. "Maybe I shall escape further beatings if you have something to eat."  
  
"In that case, you take care of the tea here and I get the cookies. That way, at least a few of them will actually make it to the sitting room."  
  
"Oh, how I miss the good old times when you respected your Master instead of accusing him of eating more than his well-earned share of food." He sighed deeply, and Tigress made a mental note to ask which of his two schools had also offered acting classes.  
  
"What good old times?" Tigress scoffed. "The good old times when I was falling to my death, the good old times when you shot a few hundred arrows at me, or the good old times when you tossed me down the stairs while we were sparring?"  
  
He smirked. "I said that you respected me, not that liked me."  
  
"Good." She crossed her arms. "Because I indeed don't like you." _Liar._  
  
He huffed at this. "Likewise." And with that, he grabbed the teapot and two cups and headed out of the kitchen.  
  
"Liar," Tigress whispered and smiled.  



End file.
